A new twisting phase transition in layered materials

Abstract

Twisted two-dimensional (2D) layered materials exhibit many novel and unique phenomena, such as insulation and superconductivity transition, and superlubricity. However, the effect of twisting on these phenomena remains unclear. A key challenge is the lack of linkage between the twisting and the material properties. Here, twisting induced moir\'e pattern is directly correlated with the configuration entropy of the bilayer graphene, based on which a new twisting phase transition in layered materials is uncovered. Most critically, the twisting phase transition is found size dependent. The diversity of phase transition among the AB stacking and the twisted phases could provide insights into the twistronics and twistribology.