The experimental observation of intrinsic ferromagnetism in single layered chromium trihalides CrX₃ (X = Cl, Br, I) has gained outstanding attention recently due to their possible implementation in spintronic devices. However, the reproducible preparation of highly crystalline chromium(III) halide nanolayers without stacking faults is still an experimental challenge. As chromium trihalides consist of adjacent layers with weak interlayer coupling, the preparation of ultrathin CrX₃ nanosheets directly on substrates via vapor transport proves as an advantageous synthesis technique. It is demonstrated that vapor growth of ultrathin highly crystalline CrX₃ micro‐ and nanosheets succeeds directly on yttrium stabilized zirconia substrates in a one‐step process via chemical vapor transport (CVT) in temperature gradients of 100 K (600 °C → 500 °C for CrCl₃ and 650 °C → 550 °C for CrBr₃ or CrI₃) without a need for subsequent delamination. Due to simulation results, optimization of synthesis conditions is realized and phase pure CrX₃ nanosheets with thicknesses ≤25 nm are obtained via short term CVT. The nanosheets morphology, crystallinity, and phase purity are analyzed by several techniques, including microscopy, diffraction, and spectroscopy. Furthermore, a potential subsequent delamination technique is demonstrated to give fast access to CrX₃ monolayers using the example of CrCl₃.

This work demonstrates an elegant way to synthesize α-RuCl₃ nanosheets down to the monolayer limit by chemical vapor transport and subsequent delamination techniques.