Assess feasibility of alkali-metal intercalation in InSe and In2Se3 without degradation

Determine whether alkali metals (e.g., Li, K) can be intercalated into InSe or In2Se3 while preserving crystallinity and functional properties, and develop intercalation protocols that prevent charge-transfer-induced degradation to enable scalable solution-based processing or doping.

Background

Electrochemical molecular intercalation using large organic cations (e.g., THA+) has successfully produced high-quality, atom-thick indium selenide nanosheets and enabled ferroelectricity in InSe. However, extending intercalation to alkali metals could provide simpler or more tunable processing routes.

Attempts to intercalate alkali metals into InSe or In2Se3 have not been demonstrated, likely due to charge-transfer-induced degradation, leaving open whether robust methods can be devised to achieve alkali intercalation without compromising material integrity.