Screening of Coulomb Potential by 2-Dimensional Band Electrons in Intercalated Layered Materials

Abstract

A model calculation is performed to investigate the effect of screening on the Coulomb potential of an intercalant ion in intercalated layered materials. The 2-dimensional conduction band electrons of the host material, which have transferred from intercalants, screen the Coulomb potential. The investigation is made by using the Thomas-Fermi approximation. The spatial behavior of the screened potential is classified into three clearly distinct regimes: the regime of 1⁄r (c<<r), the rapid decreasing regime (r∼c) and the regime of 1⁄r³ (r>>c), where r is a distance from the intercalant and c is an interlayer distance of host materials. The existence of the rapid decreasing regime is one of the most remarkable features of our model system consisting of an intercalant and two sandwiching host layers.