Two-dimensional cyanates: stabilization through hydrogenation

According to first-principles calculations, it should be possible to grow two-dimensional (2D) forms of copper thio-cyanate (CuSCN) and copper seleno-cyanate (CuSeCN) since their energies are only marginally higher than those of their most stable three-dimensional (3D) wurtzite structures. Here we show using the same theoretical approach that chemisorption reactions of hydrogen molecules with the above-mentioned 2D CuSCN and CuSeCN systems enhance their stability as they decrease the energy difference with respect to the corresponding hydrogenated forms of the wurtzite crystals. Hydrogenation causes a sizeable decrease in the energy band gap by 0.56 eV and 0.65 eV for hydrogenated 2D-CuSCN (CuSCNH2) and 2D-CuSeCN (CuSeCNH2), respectively. Finally, we describe the stability of hydrogen vacancies in CuSCNH2 and CuSeCNH2 and show that the presence of isolated single H vacancies or di-vacancies does not affect significantly the electronic properties of the host systems close to the valence and conduction band edges.