Two-dimensional Mineral [Pb2BiS3][AuTe2]: High mobility Charge Carriers in Single-atom-thick Layers

We report that [Pb2BiS3][AuTe2], known as a naturally occurring mineral buckhornite, hosts 2D carriers in single-atom-thick layers. The structure is composed of stacking layers of weakly coupled [Pb2BiS3] and [AuTe2] sheets. The insulating [Pb2BiS3] sheet inhibits interlayer charge hopping and confines the carriers in the basal plane of the single-atom-thick [AuTe2] layer. Magneto-transport measurements and theoretical calculations show a property of multiband semimetal with compensated density of electrons and holes, which exhibit high hole carrier mobility of 1360 cm$^2$/Vs. This material possesses an extremely large anisotropy 10$^4$, comparable to benchmark materials graphite. The electronic structure features linear band dispersion at the Fermi level and ultrahigh Fermi velocities of 10$^6$ m/s which are virtually identical to that of graphene. The weak interlayer coupling gives rise to the highly cleavable property of single crystal specimens, indicating a prospect for monolayer system.