Covalent Functionalization of Exfoliated Arsenic with Chlorocarbene

Few-layer and monolayer arsenic (arsenene) materials have been attracting great attention mainly from a theoretical perspective. Chemical modification of these materials would expand significantly the range of their applications. Here, we describe a chlorocarbene-mediated modification of exfoliated layered arsenic materials. Carbene-based species are highly reactive and offer further possibilities of functionalization. Our approach for modifying the arsenic surface by chlorocarbene generated from organolithium and dichloromethane resulted in a large surface coverage and a highly luminescent functionalized material, opening the door for its application in modern optoelectronic devices.