Indium(II) Selenide (InSe) Powder and Crystal

Indium(II) selenide (InSe) belongs to the IIIA−VIA family group of 2D layered semiconductors. Each of its layers has a honeycomb lattice made of indium and selenium atoms.

Like black phosphorus (BP) - but with a much more stable nature under ambient conditions, ultra-thin indium selenide (InSe) offers a useful middle ground between silicon and graphene. Weak van der Waals forces between layers of InSe allow easy mechanical and liquid exfoliation, enabling naturally thin films scaling to true nanometer dimensions. With  electron mobility up to 2,000 cm² V^-1 s^-1, which is significantly higher than that of silicon and and even higher than few-layer dichalcogenides, and a direct band gap of ~1.3 eV, InSe is a semiconductor comparable to silicon with ultra-fast electron response.

We supply high purity indium(II) selenide powder and crystals. Orders are shipped worldwide.

Indium(II) Selenide Powder

Can be used in electronic and optical devices and in the preparation of InSe nanosheets or nanoparticles by liquid chemical exfoliation or chemical vapour deposition

Available in quantities of 500 mg or 1 g

≥99.995% purity

From £220

Indium(II) Selenide Crystals by Size

Can be used as a semiconductor, in non-linear optics, and to produce 2D monolayer and few-layer InSe by mechanical or liquid exfoliation

Small (≥10 mm²) or medium (≥25 mm²) available*

≥99.999% purity

From £520

*Typical representative size, areas/dimensions may vary.

Structure of Indium(II) Selenide

Single layer of indium(II) selenide (InSe) consists of four mono-atomic sheets of hexagonally arranged atoms tetrahedrally linked in the sequence of Se–In–In–Se via covalent bonds. Each of the two indium atoms is bound to three neighbouring selenides. At room temperature under ambient conditions, InSe crystallises in a rhombohedral layered phase, known as γ-InSe with a space group of R3m.

Each of its layers has a honeycomb lattice made of indium and selenium atoms. The layers are bound by relatively weak van der Waals forces which allow mechanical or wet exfoliation to obtain atomically thin films.

Properties of Indium(II) Selenide

• IIIA−VIA family group of 2D layered semiconductors
• Ultra-thin indium selenide (InSe) offers a useful middle ground between silicon and graphene
• Electron mobility up to 2,000 cm² V^-1 s^-1
• With a direct band gap of ~1.3 eV, InSe is comparable to silicon with ultra-fast electron response

Indium(II) Selenide Applications

Indium(II) selenide (InSe) single crystal can be used to prepare monolayer and few-layer InSe by mechanical or liquid exfoliation. 

Indium(II) selenide (InSe) powder is suitable for liquid chemical exfoliation to prepare InSe nanosheets and nanoparticles down to few-layer films. With high purity, indium selenide powder offers the opportunity to produce InSe nanosheets or nanoparticle flakes in mass quantity by liquid exfoliation without going through the chemical vapour transport method. Those exfoliated nano-flakes have been widely used for the preparation of electronic and optoelectronic devices. Transistors and photodetectors that use few-layered InSe exhibit high on/off ratios, broad-band response and ultra-fast response time.

With a layered structure, exfoliated nanosheets from Indium selenide (InSe) powder offer new opportunities for practical applications in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), photodetectors and optical sensing, FETs and thermo-electronic devices.

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Bulk indium(II) selenide (InSe) has a direct band gap of ~1.3 eV with anisotropic electronic properties, and has potential applications in photovoltaics. Mechanically-exfoliated InSe flakes of single crystals have been effectively used as photodetectors with good response and quantum efficiency. Field-effect transistors with an active channel of InSe are characterised by an electron mobility of 10³ cm²V^-1s^-1. In addition, with excellent flexibility and ambient stability, InSe is also a promising candidate for applications in strain engineering, nonlinear optics, and fast ultra-thin electronic devices.

Synthesis of Indium(II) Selenide Crystal and Powder

Indium(II) selenide (InSe) is manufactured using chemical vapour transport (CVT) crystallisation. In crystals, this yields a purity in excess of 99.999% while the powdered form has a purity in excess of 99.995%.

Processing of 2D Materials

Viscoelastic transfer using PDMS

Literature and Reviews

Indium(II) Selenide Powder in Literature

• The direct-to-indirect band gap crossover in two-dimensional van der Waals Indium Selenide crystals,G. W. Mudd et al., Sci. Rep., 6:39619 (2016); DOI: 10.1038/srep39619.
• High Performance and Bendable Few-Layered InSe Photodetectors with Broad Spectral Response, S. Tamalampudi et al., Nano Lett. 2014, 14, 2800−2806 (2014); doi: 10.1021/nl500817g.
• Structural modification and band-gap crossover in indium selenide nanosheets, M. Airo et al., RSC Adv., 6, 40777 (2016); DOI: 10.1039/c6ra00262e.
• Liquid-Phase Exfoliated Indium–Selenide Flakes and Their Application in Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, E. Petroni et al., Small, 14, 1800749 (2018); DOI: 10.1002/smll.201800749.
• Evolution of the Electronic Band Structure and Efficient Photo-Detection in Atomic Layers of InSe, S. Lei et al., ACS Nano 8 (2), 1263–1272 (2014); DIO: 10.1021/nn405036u.
• Tuning the Bandgap of Exfoliated InSe Nanosheets by Quantum Confinement, G. Mudd et al., Adv. Mater., 25, 5714–5718 (2013); DOI: 10.1002/adma.201302616.

Indium(II) Selenide Crystals in Literature

• The direct-to-indirect band gap crossover in two-dimensional van der Waals Indium Selenide crystals, G. W. Mudd et al., Sci. Rep., 6:39619 (2016); DOI: 10.1038/srep39619.
• High Performance and Bendable Few-Layered InSe Photodetectors with Broad Spectral Response, S. Tamalampudi et al., Nano Lett. 2014, 14, 2800−2806 (2014); doi: 10.1021/nl500817g.
• Structural modification and band-gap crossover in indium selenide nanosheets, M. Airo et al., RSC Adv., 6, 40777 (2016); DOI: 10.1039/c6ra00262e.
• Enhanced Light Emission from the Ridge of Two-Dimensional InSe Flakes, Y. Li et al., Nano Lett., 18, 5078−5084 (2018); DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01940.
• Nanotexturing To Enhance Photoluminescent Response of Atomically Thin Indium Selenide with Highly Tunable Band Gap, M. Brotons-Gisbert et al., Nano Lett., 16, 3221−3229 (2016); DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b00689.
• Electrons and phonons in single layers of hexagonal indium chalcogenides from ab initio calculations, V. Zólyomi et al., Phys. Rev. B 89, 205416 (2014); doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.89.205416.
• The Advent of Indium Selenide: Synthesis, Electronic Properties, Ambient Stability and Applications, D. Boukhvalov et al., Nanomaterials, 7, 372 (2017); doi: 10.3390/nano7110372.