Liquid monomer phase exfoliation of non-van der Waals hematite and processing of poly(methyl methacrylate) hematene composite substrates

Liquid phase exfoliation of non-van der Waals materials has generated renewed interest in fundamental optical and electronic materials discovery and processing. However, such approaches can limit access to novel two-dimensional materials due to the chemistry of exfoliation and processing conditions employed (e.g., processing temperature, mechanical energy input, volatile organic compounds, and sensitive redox chemistries). Here, we demonstrate the exfoliation of bulk hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) powder using a mild bath sonication methodology in liquid monomer media to form stable colloidal dispersions with quasi-two-dimensional hematene nanoflakes. These colloidal dispersions were further processed to form hematene poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix composite substrates.

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