Two-dimensional H₄Nb₆O₁₇ for transparent and flexible UV photodetectors

We first report two-dimensional H4Nb6O17 nanosheets for high performance ultraviolet photodetectors (UV PDs). The H4Nb6O17 nanosheets are synthesized through a simple solid-state reaction and liquid exfoliation technique. The individual H4Nb6O17 nanosheet device displays outstanding UV-detecting performance, including high responsivity (3.8 AW(-1)), high detectivity (1.6 x10(12) Jones), and fast response speed (1.5/138 ms) at 300 nm light irradiation at 3 V bias. Furthermore, the H4Nb6O17 nanosheets film is fabricated via an easy drop-coating process, and shows high transparency (>75%) in the visible light range. More importantly, the H4Nb6O17 nanosheet film device exhibits satisfactory photocurrent (12 nA) and on/off ratio (100), and maintains excellent performance after many bending tests. This work not only introduce a promising candidate for UV PD, but also suggests the broad prospect of H4Nb6O17 nanosheets in wearable electronic devices in the future.