Ambient Degradation Anisotropy and Mechanism of van der Waals Ferroelectric NbOI₂

The spontaneous centrosymmetry-breaking and robust room-temperature ferroelectricity in niobium oxide dihalides spurs a flurry of explorations into its promising second-order nonlinear optical properties, and promises potential applications in nonvolatile electro-optical and optoelectronic devices. However, the ambient stability of the niobium oxide dihalides remains questionable, which overshadows their future development. In this work, the chemical degradation of NbOI₂ is comprehensively investigated using combined chemical and optical microscopies in conjunction with spectroscopies. We unveil the highly anisotropic degradation kinetics of NbOI₂ driven by the hydrolysis process of the unstable dangling iodine bonds dominantly on the (010) facet and progressing along the c axis. Knowing its degradation mechanism, the NbOI₂ flake can then be stabilized by the hexagonal boron nitride encapsulation, which isolates the air moisture. These findings provide direct insights into the ambient instability of NbOI₂, and they deliver possible solutions to circumvent this issue, which are essential for its practical integration in photonic and electronic devices.