Ultra-thin Ga nanosheets: analogues of high pressure Ga(iii).

Ultra-thin Ga islands of β-Ga(110), high-pressure phase Ga(iii) and a new phase of stripe superstructure are obtained on Si(111). STM combined with theoretical calculations suggests that the stripe superstructure originates from Ga(iii) (001) with stacking rearrangement. This work provides a new strategy for synthesizing low-dimensional nanomaterials and accessing high pressure phases.