Halogenated arsenenes as Dirac materials

Arsenene is the graphene-like arsenic nanosheet, which has been predicted very recently [S. Zhang, Z. Yan, Y. Li, Z. Chen, and H. Zeng,Angewandte Chemie,127 (2015) 3155-3158]. Using first-principles calculations, we systematically investigate the structures and electronic properties of fully-halogenated arsenenes. Formation energy analysis reveals that all the fully-halogenated arsenenes except iodinated arsenene are energetically favorable and could be synthesized. We have revealed the presence of Dirac cone in fully-halogenated arsenene compounds. They may have great potential applications in next generation of high-performance devices. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.