Band gap-tunable molybdenum sulfide selenide monolayer alloy

Electrochemical Intercalation of Lithium Ions into NbSe2 Nanosheets

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have been known for decades to have unique properties and recently attracted broad attention for their two-dimensional (2D) characteristics. NbSe2 is a metallic TMDC that has been studied for its charge density wave transition behavior and superconductivity but is still largely unexplored for its potential use in engineered devices with applications in areas such as electronics, optics, and batteries. Thus, we successfully demonstrate and present evidence of lithium intercalation in NbSe2 as a technique capable of modifying the material properties of NbSe2 for further study. We demonstrate successful intercalation of Li ions into NbSe2 and confirm this result through X-ray diffraction, noting a unit cell size increase from 12.57 to 13.57 Å in the c lattice parameter of the NbSe2 after intercalation. We also fabricate planar half-cell electrochemical devices using ultrathin NbSe2 from platelets to observe evidence of Li-ion intercalation through an increase in the optical transmittance of the material in the visible range. Using 550 nm wavelength light, we observed an increase in optical transmittance of 26% during electrochemical intercalation.

Preparation of Single-Layer MoS(2x)Se2(1-x) and Mo(x)W(1-x)S2 Nanosheets with High-Concentration Metallic 1T Phase

The high-yield and scalable production of single-layer ternary transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets with ≈66% of metallic 1T phase, including MoS(2x)Se2(1-x) and Mo(x)W(1-x)S2 is achieved via electrochemical Li-intercalation and the exfoliation method. Thin film MoS(2x)Se2(1- x) nanosheets drop-cast on a fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate are used as an efficient electrocatalyst on the counter electrode for the tri-iodide reduction in a dye-sensitized solar cell.

Biological and environmental interactions of emerging two-dimensional nanomaterials

Two-dimensional materials have become a major focus in materials chemistry research worldwide with substantial efforts centered on synthesis, property characterization, and technological application. These high-aspect ratio sheet-like solids come in a wide array of chemical compositions, crystal phases, and physical forms, and are anticipated to enable a host of future technologies in areas that include electronics, sensors, coatings, barriers, energy storage and conversion, and biomedicine. A parallel effort has begun to understand the biological and environmental interactions of synthetic nanosheets, both to enable the biomedical developments and to ensure human health and safety for all application fields. This review covers the most recent literature on the biological responses to 2D materials and also draws from older literature on natural lamellar minerals to provide additional insight into the essential chemical behaviors. The article proposes a framework for more systematic investigation of biological behavior in the future, rooted in fundamental materials chemistry and physics. That framework considers three fundamental interaction modes: (i) chemical interactions and phase transformations, (ii) electronic and surface redox interactions, and (iii) physical and mechanical interactions that are unique to near-atomically-thin, high-aspect-ratio solids. Two-dimensional materials are shown to exhibit a wide range of behaviors, which reflect the diversity in their chemical compositions, and many are expected to undergo reactive dissolution processes that will be key to understanding their behaviors and interpreting biological response data. The review concludes with a series of recommendations for high-priority research subtopics at the "bio-nanosheet" interface that we hope will enable safe and successful development of technologies related to two-dimensional nanomaterials.

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Monolayer Mo(1-x)W(x)S2 Crystals with Tunable Band Gaps

Band gap engineering of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, such as MoS₂ and WS₂, is essential for the applications of the two-dimensional (2D) crystals in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Although it is known that chemical mixture can evidently change the band gaps of alloyed Mo_1−xW_xS₂ crystals, the successful growth of Mo_1−xW_xS₂ monolayers with tunable Mo/W ratios has not been realized by conventional chemical vapor deposition. Herein, we developed a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LP-CVD) method to grow monolayer Mo_1−xW_xS₂ (x = 0–1) 2D crystals with a wide range of Mo/W ratios. Raman spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy demonstrate the homogeneous mixture of Mo and W in the 2D alloys. Photoluminescence measurements show that the optical band gaps of the monolayer Mo_1−xW_xS₂ crystals strongly depend on the Mo/W ratios and continuously tunable band gap can be achieved by controlling the W or Mo portion by the LP-CVD.

Fundamentals of lateral and vertical heterojunctions of atomically thin materials

At the turn of this century, Herbert Kroemer, the 2000 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, famously commented that "the interface is the device". This statement has since opened up unparalleled opportunities at the interface of conventional three-dimensional (3D) materials (H. Kroemer, Quasi-Electric and Quasi-Magnetic Fields in Non-Uniform Semiconductors, RCA Rev., 1957, 18, 332-342). More than a decade later, Sir Andre Geim and Irina Grigorieva presented their views on 2D heterojunctions which further cultivated broad interests in the 2D materials field. Currently, advances in two-dimensional (2D) materials enable us to deposit layered materials that are only one or few unit-cells in thickness to construct sharp in-plane and out-of-plane interfaces between dissimilar materials, and to be able to fabricate novel devices using these cutting-edge techniques. The interface alone, which traditionally dominated overall device performance, thus has now become the device itself. Fueled by recent progress in atomically thin materials, we are now at the ultimate limit of interface physics, which brings to us new and exciting opportunities, with equally demanding challenges. This paper endeavors to provide stalwarts and newcomers a perspective on recent advances in synthesis, fundamentals, applications, and future prospects of a large variety of heterojunctions of atomically thin materials.

Photocarrier dynamics in transition metal dichalcogenide alloy Mo0.5W0.5S2

We report a transient absorption study of photocarrier dynamics in transition metal dichalcogenide alloy, Mo0.5W0.5S2. Photocarriers were injected by a 400-nm pump pulse and detected by a 660-nm probe pulse. We observed a fast energy relaxation process of about 0.7 ps. The photocarrier lifetime is in the range of 50 - 100 ps, which weakly depends on the injected photocarrier density and is a few times shorter than MoS2 and WS2, reflecting the relatively lower crystalline quality of the alloy. Saturable absorption was also observed in Mo0.5W0.5S2, with a saturation energy fluence of 32 μJ cm(-2). These results provide important parameters on photocarrier properties of transition metal dichalcogenide alloys.

Recent Advances in Two-Dimensional Materials beyond Graphene

The isolation of graphene in 2004 from graphite was a defining moment for the "birth" of a field: two-dimensional (2D) materials. In recent years, there has been a rapidly increasing number of papers focusing on non-graphene layered materials, including transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), because of the new properties and applications that emerge upon 2D confinement. Here, we review significant recent advances and important new developments in 2D materials "beyond graphene". We provide insight into the theoretical modeling and understanding of the van der Waals (vdW) forces that hold together the 2D layers in bulk solids, as well as their excitonic properties and growth morphologies. Additionally, we highlight recent breakthroughs in TMD synthesis and characterization and discuss the newest families of 2D materials, including monoelement 2D materials (i.e., silicene, phosphorene, etc.) and transition metal carbide- and carbon nitride-based MXenes. We then discuss the doping and functionalization of 2D materials beyond graphene that enable device applications, followed by advances in electronic, optoelectronic, and magnetic devices and theory. Finally, we provide perspectives on the future of 2D materials beyond graphene.

Spin-orbit engineering in transition metal dichalcogenide alloy monolayers

Binary transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers share common properties such as a direct optical bandgap, spin-orbit splittings of hundreds of meV, light-matter interaction dominated by robust excitons and coupled spin-valley states. Here we demonstrate spin-orbit-engineering in Mo(1-x)WxSe2 alloy monolayers for optoelectronics and applications based on spin- and valley-control. We probe the impact of the tuning of the conduction band spin-orbit spin-splitting on the bright versus dark exciton population. For MoSe2 monolayers, the photoluminescence intensity decreases as a function of temperature by an order of magnitude (4-300 K), whereas for WSe2 we measure surprisingly an order of magnitude increase. The ternary material shows a trend between these two extreme behaviours. We also show a non-linear increase of the valley polarization as a function of tungsten concentration, where 40% tungsten incorporation is sufficient to achieve valley polarization as high as in binary WSe2.

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide alloys: preparation, characterization and applications

Engineering electronic structure of atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials is of great importance to their potential applications. In comparison to numerous other approaches, such as strain and chemical functionization, alloying can continuously tune the band gaps in a wide energy range. Atomically thin 2D alloys have been prepared and studied recently due to their potential use in electronic and optoelectronic applications. In this review, we first summarize the preparation methods of 2D alloys (mainly on transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayer alloys), including mechanical exfoliation, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and chalcogen exchange. Then, atomic-resolution imaging, Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy characterization of 2D alloys are reviewed, in which band gap tuning is discussed in detail based on the PL experiments and theoretical calculations. Finally, applications of 2D alloys in field-effect transistors (FETs), photocurrent generation and hydrogen evolution catalysis are reviewed.

NANOELECTRONICS. Epitaxial growth of a monolayer WSe2-MoS2 lateral p-n junction with an atomically sharp interface

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as molybdenum sulfide MoS2 and tungsten sulfide WSe2 have potential applications in electronics because they exhibit high on-off current ratios and distinctive electro-optical properties. Spatially connected TMDC lateral heterojunctions are key components for constructing monolayer p-n rectifying diodes, light-emitting diodes, photovoltaic devices, and bipolar junction transistors. However, such structures are not readily prepared via the layer-stacking techniques, and direct growth favors the thermodynamically preferred TMDC alloys. We report the two-step epitaxial growth of lateral WSe2-MoS2 heterojunction, where the edge of WSe2 induces the epitaxial MoS2 growth despite a large lattice mismatch. The epitaxial growth process offers a controllable method to obtain lateral heterojunction with an atomically sharp interface.

Atomically thin resonant tunnel diodes built from synthetic van der Waals heterostructures

Vertical integration of two-dimensional van der Waals materials is predicted to lead to novel electronic and optical properties not found in the constituent layers. Here, we present the direct synthesis of two unique, atomically thin, multi-junction heterostructures by combining graphene with the monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides: molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), molybdenum diselenide (MoSe₂) and tungsten diselenide (WSe₂). The realization of MoS₂–WSe₂–graphene and WSe₂–MoS₂–graphene heterostructures leads to resonant tunnelling in an atomically thin stack with spectrally narrow, room temperature negative differential resistance characteristics.

The family of two-dimensional materials is ever growing, but greater functionality can be realized by combining them together. Here, the authors report the direct synthesis of multijunction heterostructures made from graphene, tungsten diselenide and either molybdenum disulphide or molybdenum diselenide.

MoS2 Surface Structure Tailoring via Carbonaceous Promoter

Atomically thin semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides have been attracting lots of attentions, particularly, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) monolayers show promising applications in field effect transistors, optoelectronics and valleytronics. However, the controlled synthesis of highly crystalline MoS2 remain a challenge especially the systematic approach to manipulate its structure and morphology. Herein, we report a method for controlled synthesis of highly crystalline MoS2 by using chemical vapor deposition method with carbonaceous materials as growth promoter. A uniform and highly crystalline MoS2 monolayer with the grain size close to 40 μm was achieved. Furthermore, we extend the method to the manipulation of MoS2 morphology, flower-shape vertical grown MoS2 layers were obtained on growth promoting substrates. This simple approach allows an easy access of highly crystalline MoS2 layers with morphology tuned in a controllable manner. Moreover, the flower-shape MoS2 grown on graphene oxide film used as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries showed excellent electrochemical performance.

Atomic scale microstructure and properties of Se-deficient two-dimensional MoSe2

We study the atomic scale microstructure of nonstoichiometric two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide MoSe2-x by employing aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. We show that a Se-deficit in single layers of MoSe2 grown by molecular beam epitaxy gives rise to a dense network of mirror-twin-boundaries (MTBs) decorating the 2D-grains. With the use of density functional theory calculations, we further demonstrate that MTBs are thermodynamically stable structures in Se-deficient sheets. These line defects host spatially localized states with energies close to the valence band minimum, thus giving rise to enhanced conductance along straight MTBs. However, electronic transport calculations show that the transmission of hole charge carriers across MTBs is strongly suppressed due to band bending effects. We further observe formation of MTBs during in situ removal of Se atoms by the electron beam of the microscope, thus confirming that MTBs appear due to Se-deficit, and not coalescence of individual grains during growth. At a very high local Se-deficit, the 2D sheet becomes unstable and transforms to a nanowire. Our results on Se-deficient MoSe2 suggest routes toward engineering the properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides by deviations from the stoichiometric composition.

Recent advances in controlled synthesis of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides via vapour deposition techniques

This review describes recent progress in the synthesis of transition metal dichalcogenides via vapour deposition methods with the control of the layer number and band gap energy.

Growth and synthesis of mono and few-layers transition metal dichalcogenides by vapour techniques: a review

Nanosheet materials such as graphene, boron nitride and transition metal dichalcogenides have gathered attention in recent years thanks to their properties and promises for future technology, energy generation and post-CMOS device concepts.

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheet-based composites

This review summarizes and discusses the synthetic strategies, properties and applications of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheet-based composites, with emphasis on those new appealing structures, properties and functions.

Phase engineering of transition metal dichalcogenides

The co-existence of 2H, 1T and 1T′ phases in monolayered TMDs.

NaYF4:Yb,Er–MoS2: from synthesis and surface ligand stripping to negative infrared photoresponse

The synthesis, surface ligand stripping (SOCl₂/DMF treatment), and unusual negative infrared photoresponse of new NaYF₄:Yb,Er–MoS₂ sheet nanocomposites were reported.

Monolayer MoS2 heterojunction solar cells

We realized photovoltaic operation in large-scale MoS2 monolayers by the formation of a type-II heterojunction with p-Si. The MoS2 monolayer introduces a built-in electric field near the interface between MoS2 and p-Si to help photogenerated carrier separation. Such a heterojunction photovoltaic device achieves a power conversion efficiency of 5.23%, which is the highest efficiency among all monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenide-based solar cells. The demonstrated results of monolayer MoS2/Si-based solar cells hold the promise for integration of 2D materials with commercially available Si-based electronics in highly efficient devices.