A study of two-dimensional PbFCl and BaFCl

Two-dimensional layered PbFCl and BaFCl have been prepared by solid-state reactions and the crystal structures were subjected to Rietveld refinement to obtain structural parameters. The compounds characterized by several methods including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, etc. have been subjected to ultrasonic exfoliation in different solvents such as water, dimethylformamide and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. Water is found to yield single layers of both these halides. The supercapacitor performances of PbFCl, BaFCl and the exfoliated materials have been studied. Exfoliated 1–2 layered PbFCl exhibits a high-specific capacitance of 158 F g−1 at a scan rate of 10 mV s−1.