Low-Frequency Shear and Layer-Breathing Modes in Raman Scattering of Two-Dimensional Materials

Visualizing Nonlinear Phononics in Layered ReSe2

Nonlinear phononics has recently been demonstrated as a viable approach for dynamically modifying materials' properties. Conventionally, nonlinearity in the lattice dynamics is introduced via the "ionic" Raman scattering, in which infrared-active phonons (i.e., coherent ionic vibrations) serve as the intermediate state for transferring energy to Raman-active phonons. Here we report that it is also possible to achieve phononic nonlinearity through the "electronic" route, a process that relies on excited electronic states to initiate energy exchange among Raman-active phonons. Taking layered ReSe₂ as a model system, we use coherent phonon spectroscopy with a pump energy larger than the band gap to follow lattice dynamics and observe the nonlinear coupling between both Raman-active intralayer atomic oscillations and interlayer breathing modes. In addition, we show that such nonlinear phononic coupling is highly dependent on the environment temperature. This work, which demonstrates a different and novel mechanism, may enrich the toolkit for controlling material properties by means of nonlinear phononics.

Electronically Weak Coupled Bilayer MoS2 at Various Twist Angles via Folding

Constructing a bilayer system with defined twist angles is an effective way to engineer the physical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials, opening up a new research area of twistronics. How to achieve high-quality bilayer 2D materials in a controlled and mass production way is of primary importance to this emerging area. In this work, we present a strategy for the large-scale fabrication of twisted bilayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) through photolithography patterning and folding of single-crystal monolayer MoS₂. Atomic resolution transmission electron spectroscopy directly confirms that the as-achieved folded bilayer MoS₂ is of high quality with targeted twist angles. Various twist angles result in tuning Raman mode frequencies and direct optical transition energies. Due to the weak interlayer coupling between the twisted layers, folded bilayers exhibit an extremely high photoluminescence with doubled intensity as compared to the unfolded monolayer, indicating a possible application in optoelectronic devices. Our work provides a new strategy to tailor the properties of MoS₂, which will be beneficial to twistable electronics.

Thermal expansion coefficient of few-layer MoS2 studied by temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy

The thermal expansion coefficient is an important thermal parameter that influences the performance of nanodevices based on two-dimensional materials. To obtain the thermal expansion coefficient of few-layer MoS₂, suspended MoS₂ and supported MoS₂ were systematically investigated using Raman spectroscopy in the temperature range from 77 to 557 K. The temperature-dependent evolution of the Raman frequency shift for suspended MoS₂ exhibited prominent differences from that for supported MoS₂, obviously demonstrating the effect due to the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between MoS₂ and the substrate. The intrinsic thermal expansion coefficients of MoS₂ with different numbers of layers were calculated. Interestingly, negative thermal expansion coefficients were obtained below 175 K, which was attributed to the bending vibrations in the MoS₂ layer during cooling. Our results demonstrate that Raman spectroscopy is a feasible tool for investigating the thermal properties of few-layer MoS₂ and will provide useful information for its further application in photoelectronic devices.

Structural Phase Transition and Interlayer Coupling in Few-Layer 1T' and Td MoTe2

We performed polarized Raman spectroscopy on mechanically exfoliated few-layer MoTe₂ samples and observed both 1T' and T_d phases at room temperature. Few-layer 1T' and T_d MoTe₂ exhibited a significant difference especially in interlayer vibration modes, from which the interlayer coupling strengths were extracted using the linear chain model: strong in-plane anisotropy was observed in both phases. Furthermore, temperature-dependent Raman measurements revealed a peculiar phase transition behavior in few-layer 1T' MoTe₂. In contrast to bulk 1T' MoTe₂ crystals, where the phase transition to the T_d phase occurs at ∼250 K, the temperature-driven phase transition to the T_d phase is increasingly suppressed as the thickness is reduced, and the transition and the critical temperature varied dramatically from sample to sample even for the same thickness. Raman spectra of intermediate phases that correspond to neither 1T' nor T_d phase with different interlayer vibration modes were observed, which suggests that several metastable phases exist with similar total energies.

Structural and High-Pressure Properties of Rheniite (ReS2) and (Re,Mo)S2

Rhenium disulfide (ReS2), known in nature as the mineral rheniite, is a very interesting compound owing to its remarkable fundamental properties and great potential to develop novel device applications. Here we perform density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate the structural properties and compression behavior of this compound and also of the (Re,Mo)S2 solid solution as a function of Re/Mo content. Our theoretical analysis is complemented with high-pressure X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, which have allowed us to reevaluate the phase transition pressure and equation of state of 1T-ReS2. We have observed the 1T-to-1T’ phase transition at pressures as low as ~2 GPa, and we have obtained an experimental bulk modulus, B0, equal to 46(2) GPa. This value is in good agreement with PBE+D3 calculations, thus confirming the ability of this functional to model the compression behavior of layered transition metal dichalcogenides, provided that van der Waals corrections are taken into account. Our experimental data and analysis confirm the important role played by van der Waals effects in the high-pressure properties of 1T-ReS2.

Theoretical analysis of thermal boundary conductance of MoS2-SiO2 and WS2-SiO2 interface

Understanding the physical processes involved in interfacial heat transfer is critical for the interpretation of thermometric measurements and the optimization of heat dissipation in nanoelectronic devices that are based on transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) semiconductors. We model the phononic and electronic contributions to the thermal boundary conductance (TBC) variability for the MoS2-SiO2 and WS2-SiO2 interface. A phenomenological theory to model diffuse phonon transport at disordered interfaces is introduced and yields G = 13.5 and 12.4 MW K-1 m-2 at 300 K for the MoS2-SiO2 and WS2-SiO2 interface, respectively. We compare its predictions to those of the coherent phonon model and find that the former fits the MoS2-SiO2 data from experiments and simulations significantly better. Our analysis suggests that heat dissipation at the TMD-SiO2 interface is dominated by phonons scattered diffusely by the rough interface although the electronic TBC contribution can be significant even at low electron densities (n ≤ 1012 cm-2) and may explain some of the variation in the experimental TBC data from the literature. The physical insights from our study can be useful for the development of thermally aware designs in TMD-based nanoelectronics.

Time-Domain Investigations of Coherent Phonons in van der Waals Thin Films

Coherent phonons can be launched in materials upon localized pulsed optical excitation, and be subsequently followed in time-domain, with a sub-picosecond resolution, using a time-delayed pulsed probe. This technique yields characterization of mechanical, optical, and electronic properties at the nanoscale, and is taken advantage of for investigations in material science, physics, chemistry, and biology. Here we review the use of this experimental method applied to the emerging field of homo- and heterostructures of van der Waals materials. Their unique structure corresponding to non-covalently stacked atomically thin layers allows for the study of original structural configurations, down to one-atom-thin films free of interface defect. The generation and relaxation of coherent optical phonons, as well as propagative and resonant breathing acoustic phonons, are comprehensively discussed. This approach opens new avenues for the in situ characterization of these novel materials, the observation and modulation of exotic phenomena, and advances in the field of acoustics microscopy.

2D Re-Based Transition Metal Chalcogenides: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities

The rise of 2D transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) materials has enormous implications for the scientific community and beyond. Among TMDs, ReX2 (X = S, Se) has attracted significant interest regarding its unusual 1T' structure and extraordinary properties in various fields during the past 7 years. For instance, ReX2 possesses large bandgaps (ReSe2: 1.3 eV, ReS2: 1.6 eV), distinctive interlayer decoupling, and strong anisotropic properties, which endow more degree of freedom for constructing novel optoelectronic, logic circuit, and sensor devices. Moreover, facile ion intercalation, abundant active sites, together with stable 1T' structure enable them great perspective to fabricate high-performance catalysts and advanced energy storage devices. In this review, the structural features, fundamental physicochemical properties, as well as all existing applications of Re-based TMDs materials are comprehensively introduced. Especially, the emerging synthesis strategies are critically analyzed and pay particular attention is paid to its growth mechanism with probing the assembly process of domain architectures. Finally, current challenges and future opportunities regarding the controlled preparation methods, property, and application exploration of Re-based TMDs are discussed.

Blue Phosphorene Bilayer Is a Two-Dimensional Metal and an Unambiguous Classification Scheme for Buckled Hexagonal Bilayers

High-level first-principles computations predict blue phosphorene bilayer to be a two-dimensional metal. This structure has not been considered before and was identified by employing a block-diagram scheme that yields the complete set of five high-symmetry stacking configurations of buckled honeycomb layers, and allows their unambiguous classification. We show that all of these stacking configurations are stable or at least metastable both for blue phosphorene and gray arsenene bilayers. For blue phosphorene, the most stable stacking arrangement has not yet been reported, and surprisingly it is metallic, while the others are indirect band gap semiconductors. As it is impossible to interchange the stacking configurations by translations, all of them should be experimentally accessible via the transfer of monolayers. The metallic character of blue phosphorene bilayer is caused by its short interlayer distance of 3.01 Å and offers the exceptional possibility to design single elemental all-phosphorus transistors.

Non-Equilibrium Synthesis of Highly Active Nanostructured, Oxygen-Incorporated Amorphous Molybdenum Sulfide HER Electrocatalyst

Molybdenum sulfide emerged as promising hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalyst thanks to its high intrinsic activity, however its limited active sites exposure and low conductivity hamper its performance. To address these drawbacks, the non-equilibrium nature of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is exploited to synthesize self-supported hierarchical nanoarchitectures by gas phase nucleation and sequential attachment of defective molybdenum sulfide clusters. The physics of the process are studied by in situ diagnostics and correlated to the properties of the resulting electrocatalyst. The as-synthesized architectures have a disordered nanocrystalline structure, with nanodomains of bent, defective S-Mo-S layers embedded in an amorphous matrix, with excess sulfur and segregated molybdenum particles. Oxygen incorporation in this structure fosters the creation of amorphous oxide/oxysulfide nanophases with high electrical conductivity, enabling fast electron transfer to the active sites. The combined effect of the nanocrystalline pristine structure and the surface oxidation enhances the performance leading to small overpotentials, very fast kinetics (35.1 mV dec-1 Tafel slope) and remarkable long-term stability for continuous operation up to -1 A cm-2. This work shows possible new avenues in catalytic design arising from a non-equilibrium technique as PLD and the importance of structural and chemical control to improve the HER performance of MoS-based catalysts.

Evolution of high-frequency Raman modes and their doping dependence in twisted bilayer MoS2

Twisted van der Waals heterostructures provide a new platform for studying strongly correlated quantum phases. The interlayer coupling in these heterostructures is sensitive to the twist angle (θ) and key to controllably tuning several interesting properties. Here, we demonstrate the systematic evolution of the interlayer coupling strength with twist angle in bilayer MoS₂ using a combination of Raman spectroscopy and classical simulations. At zero doping, we observe a monotonic increase in the separation between the A_1g and E_2g¹ mode frequencies as θ decreases from 10°→ 1°, and the separation approaches that of a bilayer at small twist angles. Furthermore, using doping dependent Raman spectroscopy, we reveal the θ dependent softening and broadening of the A_1g mode, whereas the E_2g¹ mode remains unaffected. Using first principles based simulations, we demonstrate large (weak) electron-phonon coupling for the A_1g (E_2g¹) mode, which explains the experimentally observed trends. Our study provides a non-destructive way to characterize the twist angle and the interlayer coupling and establishes the manipulation of phonons in twisted bilayer MoS₂ (twistnonics).

A library of ab initio Raman spectra for automated identification of 2D materials

Raman spectroscopy is frequently used to identify composition, structure and layer thickness of 2D materials. Here, we describe an efficient first-principles workflow for calculating resonant first-order Raman spectra of solids within third-order perturbation theory employing a localized atomic orbital basis set. The method is used to obtain the Raman spectra of 733 different monolayers selected from the Computational 2D Materials Database (C2DB). We benchmark the computational scheme against available experimental data for 15 known monolayers. Furthermore, we propose an automatic procedure for identifying a material based on an input experimental Raman spectrum and apply it to the cases of MoS2 (H-phase) and WTe2 (T[Formula: see text]-phase). The Raman spectra of all materials at different excitation frequencies and polarization configurations are freely available from the C2DB. Our comprehensive and easily accessible library of ab initio Raman spectra should be valuable for both theoreticians and experimentalists in the field of 2D materials.

Polytypism in few-layer gallium selenide

Gallium selenide (GaSe) is one of the layered group-III metal monochalcogenides, which has an indirect bandgap in the monolayer and a direct bandgap in bulk unlike other conventional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as MoX₂ and WX₂ (X = S and Se). Four polytypes of bulk GaSe, designated as β-, ε-, γ-, and δ-GaSe, have been reported. Since different polytypes result in different optical and electrical properties even with the same thickness, identifying the polytype is essential in utilizing this material for various optoelectronic applications. We performed polarized Raman measurements on GaSe and found different ultra-low-frequency Raman spectra of inter-layer vibrational modes even with the same thickness due to different stacking sequences of the polytypes. By comparing the ultra-low-frequency Raman spectra with the theoretical calculations and high-resolution electron microscopy measurements, we established the correlation between the ultra-low-frequency Raman spectra and the stacking sequences of trilayer GaSe. We further found that the AB-type stacking is more stable than the AA'-type stacking in GaSe.

Atomically Precise PdSe2 Pentagonal Nanoribbons

We report atomically precise pentagonal PdSe₂ nanoribbons (PNRs) fabricated on a pristine PdSe₂ substrate with a hybrid method of top-down and bottom-up processes. The PNRs form a uniform array of dimer structure with a width of 2.4 nm and length of more than 200 nm. In situ four-probe scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) reveals metallic behavior of PNRs with ballistic transport for at least 20 nm in length. Density functional theory calculations produce a semiconducting density of states of isolated PNRs and find that the band gap narrows and disappears quickly once considering coupling between PNR stacking layers or interaction with the PdSe₂ substrate. The coupling of PNRs is further corroborated by Raman spectroscopy and field-effect transistor measurements. The facile method of fabricating atomically precise PNRs offers an air-stable functional material for dimensional control.

Diverse electronic properties of 2D layered Se-containing materials composed of quasi-1D atomic chains

The two-dimensional (2D) atomically thin layered materials have attracted significant attention for constructing next-generation integrated electronic and optoelectronic devices. A special class of 2D materials composed of quasi one-dimensional (1D) atomic chains that show intriguing properties are less studied. Here, two Se-containing 2D layered materials α-Se and Sb₂Se₃ that have quasi-1D atomic chains are investigated via first-principles electronic structure calculations. Results shows that the electronic properties of n-monolayers (n-MLs) stacked α-Se and Sb₂Se₃ exhibit distinct layer-dependence electronic properties. The band gap of 2D α-Se remarkably decreases with increasing thickness, whereas the band gap of 2D Sb₂Se₃ show negligible change with thickness. The evolution of lattice phonon frequencies with thickness also show similar distinction. The underpinnings of the diverse electronic properties are attributed to the different electronic coupling among the layers of α-Se and Sb₂Se₃ that results in different van der Waals interactions among chains/layers. Our study demonstrates the rich diversity in the properties of 2D layered materials composed of lower-dimensional structural motifs.

Quasi-Two-Dimensional Magnon Identification in Antiferromagnetic FePS3via Magneto-Raman Spectroscopy

Recently it was discovered that van der Waals-bonded magnetic materials retain long range magnetic ordering down to a single layer, opening many avenues in fundamental physics and potential applications of these fascinating materials. One such material is FePS3, a large spin (S=2) Mott insulator where the Fe atoms form a honeycomb lattice. In the bulk, FePS3 has been shown to be a quasi-two-dimensional-Ising antiferromagnet, with additional features in the Raman spectra emerging below the Néel temperature (T N ) of approximately 120 K. Using magneto-Raman spectroscopy as an optical probe of magnetic structure, we show that one of these Raman-active modes in the magnetically ordered state is actually a magnon with a frequency of ≈3.7 THz (122 cm-1). Contrary to previous work, which interpreted this feature as a phonon, our Raman data shows the expected frequency shifting and splitting of the magnon as a function of temperature and magnetic field, respectively, where we determine the g-factor to be ≈2. In addition, the symmetry behavior of the magnon is studied by polarization-dependent Raman spectroscopy and explained using the magnetic point group of FePS3.

Effect of graphene sheet incorporation on the physicochemical properties of nano-alumina

The colloidal processing method was suggested for obtaining chemically homogeneous composite powder based on graphene and nano-alumina.

Structural engineering of bilayer PtSe2 thin films: a first-principles study

PtSe₂ is an emerging layered two-dimensional material of applied interest. Its monolayer shows promising properties for applications in electronic devices, while the bandgap of a multilayer PtSe₂ film can be tuned via changing its thickness. In this work the bilayer PtSe₂ thin films are investigated as an example of structural engineering with first-principles calculations. Various van der Waals corrections schemes are firstly discussed, and the optB86b scheme shows a better description of the semiconductor-metal transition for PtSe₂ films. Six bilayer PtSe₂ thin films in different stacking modes are constructed in order to structurally tune the electronic and transport properties. The bandgap can be effectively broadened with the structural engineering for wider potential applications. The carrier mobility, dynamical stability and Raman spectra are also calculated and discussed.

Sagnac-enhanced impulsive stimulated Raman scattering for highly sensitive low-frequency Raman spectroscopy

The "fingerprint" (500-1800  cm^-1) and "high-frequency" (2400-4000  cm^-1) regions in Raman spectroscopy are commonly used for label-free chemical analysis, while the "low-frequency" region (<200  cm^-1) is often overlooked, despite containing rich information. This is largely due to the challenge of measuring weak Raman signals that are obscured by strong Rayleigh scattering. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate Sagnac-enhanced impulsive stimulated Raman scattering (SE-ISRS), a filter-free method for time-domain Raman spectroscopy that overcomes the challenge and provides low-frequency Raman spectra at all probe frequencies. Using SE-ISRS for simultaneous low-frequency and fingerprint region measurements, we demonstrate a >5× enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio compared to conventional ISRS spectroscopy.

Probing the Magnetic Ordering of Antiferromagnetic MnPS3 by Raman Spectroscopy

Ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic materials are of crucial importance in information storage and spintronics devices. Herein we present a comprehensive study of 2D Heisenberg-like antiferromagnetic material MnPS₃ by optical contrast and Raman spectroscopy. We propose a criterion of 0.1 × ( N - 1) < (Δ R/ R)_max < 0.1 × N ( N ≤ 7) to quickly identify the layer number N by using maximum optical contrast (Δ R/ R)_max of few-layer MnPS₃ on a SiO₂/Si substrate (90 nm thick SiO₂). The Raman modes are also identified by polarization Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, by temperature-dependent Raman measurements, we obtain three phase transition temperatures of MnPS₃. The transition temperature at around 80 K corresponds to the transition from the antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase; the one at around 120 K is related to its second magnetic phase transition temperature due to two-dimensional spin critical fluctuations; the one at around 55 K is associated with unbinding of spin vortices. Our studies provide more evidence to advance knowledge of the magnetic critical dynamics of 2D ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic systems.

Cross-dimensional electron-phonon coupling in van der Waals heterostructures

The electron-phonon coupling (EPC) in a material is at the frontier of the fundamental research, underlying many quantum behaviors. van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) provide an ideal platform to reveal the intrinsic interaction between their electrons and phonons. In particular, the flexible van der Waals stacking of different atomic crystals leads to multiple opportunities to engineer the interlayer phonon modes for EPC. Here, in hBN/WS₂ vdWH, we report the strong cross-dimensional coupling between the layer-breathing phonons well extended over tens to hundreds of layer thick vdWH and the electrons localized within the few-layer WS₂ constituent. The strength of such cross-dimensional EPC can be well reproduced by a microscopic picture through the mediation by the interfacial coupling and also the interlayer bond polarizability model in vdWHs. The study on cross-dimensional EPC paves the way to manipulate the interaction between electrons and phonons in various vdWHs by interfacial engineering for possible interesting physical phenomena.

The strength of electron-phonon coupling can be directly probed by Raman spectroscopy. Here, the authors use low-frequency Raman spectroscopy to unveil the existence of a strong cross-dimensional coupling between the bulk-like layer-breathing phonons in an hBN/WS2 heterostructure and the electrons localized within its few-layer WS2 constituent.

The lifetime of interlayer breathing modes of few-layer 2H-MoSe2 membranes

A time-resolved observation of coherent interlayer longitudinal acoustic phonons in thin layers of 2H-MoSe2 is reported. A femtosecond pump-probe technique is used to investigate the evolution of the energy loss of these vibrational modes in a wide selection of MoSe2 flakes with different thicknesses ranging from bilayer up to the bulk limit. By directly analysing the temporal decay of the modes, we can clearly distinguish an abrupt crossover related to the acoustic mean free path of the phonons in a layered system, and the constraints imposed on the acoustic decay channels when reducing the dimensionality. For thicker samples, the main acoustic attenuation mechanism is attributed to the scattering of the acoustic modes with thermal phonons. For samples thinner than ∼20 molecular layers, the predominant damping mechanism is ascribed to the effects of surface asperity. Losses intrinsic to the low dimensionality of single or few layer materials impose critical limitations for their use in optomechanical and optoelectronic devices.

Modifying the Band Gap of Semiconducting Two-Dimensional Materials by Polymer Assembly into Different Structures

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) assembled on the surface of two-dimensional tungsten disulfide (WS₂) into a limited number of nanoislands (NIs), nanoshells (NSs), and granular nanoparticulates (GNPs) depending on its chain length. NI assemblies showed a nonmeasurable shift of photoluminescence (PL) and the A and B absorption peaks of WS₂. This confirmed that the electronic doping by thiol is not effective. The PEG NS assembly displayed a smaller red shift of the PL and a slight decrease of the energy difference between the A and B absorption peaks of WS₂. However, increasing the dielectric function on the surface of WS₂ has a small influence on their optical properties. The PEG NP assembly on WS₂ exhibited a significant red shift of the PL spectrum and a large decrease of the energy difference between A and B absorption peaks. Deforming the WS₂ sheet by the PEG NP assembly decreased the orbital coupling and lowered the electronic direct band gap significantly. Raman bands of WS₂ are shifted to a higher frequency on improving its mechanical strength after the PEG assembly.

Band Structure Engineering of Interfacial Semiconductors Based on Atomically Thin Lead Iodide Crystals

To explore new constituents in two-dimensional (2D) materials and to combine their best in van der Waals heterostructures is in great demand as being a unique platform to discover new physical phenomena and to design novel functionalities in interface-based devices. Herein, PbI₂ crystals as thin as a few layers are synthesized, particularly through a facile low-temperature solution approach with crystals of large size, regular shape, different thicknesses, and high yields. As a prototypical demonstration of band engineering of PbI₂ -based interfacial semiconductors, PbI₂ crystals are assembled with several transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers. The photoluminescence of MoS₂ is enhanced in MoS₂ /PbI₂ stacks, while a dramatic photoluminescence quenching of  WS₂ and WSe₂ is revealed in WS₂ /PbI₂ and WSe₂ /PbI₂ stacks. This is attributed to the effective heterojunction formation between PbI₂ and these monolayers; type I band alignment in MoS₂ /PbI₂ stacks, where fast-transferred charge carriers accumulate in MoS₂ with high emission efficiency, results in photoluminescence enhancement, and type II in WS₂ /PbI₂ and WSe₂ /PbI₂ stacks, with separated electrons and holes suitable for light harvesting, results in photoluminescence quenching. The results demonstrate that MoS₂ , WS₂ , and WSe₂ monolayers with similar electronic structures show completely distinct light-matter interactions when interfacing with PbI₂ , providing unprecedented capabilities to engineer the device performance of 2D heterostructures.

Self-Healing Originated van der Waals Homojunctions with Strong Interlayer Coupling for High-Performance Photodiodes

The dangling-bond-free surfaces of van der Waals (vdW) materials make it possible to build ultrathin junctions. Fundamentally, the interfacial phenomena and related optoelectronic properties of vdW junctions are modulated by the interlayer coupling effect. However, the weak interlayer coupling of vdW heterostructures limits the interlayer charge transfer efficiency, resulting in low photoresponsivity. Here, a bilayer MoS₂ homogeneous junction is constructed by stacking the as-grown onto the self-healed monolayer MoS₂. The homojunction barrier of ∼165 meV is obtained by the electronic structure modulation of defect self-healing. This homojunction reveals the stronger interlayer coupling effect in comparison with vdW heterostructures. This ultrastrong interlayer coupling effect is experimentally verified by Raman spectra and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The ultrafast interlayer charge transfer takes place within ∼447 fs, which is faster than those of most vdW heterostructures. Furthermore, the homojunction photodiode manifests outstanding rectifying behavior with an ideal factor of ∼1.6, perfect air stability over 12 months, and high responsivity of ∼54.6 mA/W. Moreover, the interlayer exciton peak of ∼1.66 eV is found in vdW homojunctions. This work offers an uncommon vdW junction with strong interlayer coupling and perfects the relevance of interlayer coupling and interlayer charge transfer.

Moiré Phonons in Twisted Bilayer MoS2

The material choice, layer thickness, and twist angle widely enrich the family of van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs), providing multiple degrees of freedom to engineer their optical and electronic properties. The moiré patterns in vdWHs create a periodic potential for electrons and excitons to yield many interesting phenomena, such as Hofstadter butterfly spectrum and moiré excitons. Here, in the as-grown/transferred twisted bilayer MoS₂ (tBLMs), one of the simplest prototypes of vdWHs, we show that the periodic potentials of moiré patterns also modify the properties of phonons of its monolayer MoS₂ constituent to generate Raman modes related to moiré phonons. These Raman modes correspond to zone-center phonons in tBLMs, which are folded from the off-center phonons in monolayer MoS₂. However, the folded phonons related to crystallographic superlattices are not observed in the Raman spectra. By varying the twist angle, the moiré phonons of tBLM can be exploited to map the phonon dispersions of the monolayer constituent. The lattice dynamics of the moiré phonons are modulated by the patterned interlayer coupling resulting from periodic potential of moiré patterns, as confirmed by density functional theory calculations. The Raman intensity related to moiré phonons in all tBLMs are strongly enhanced when the excitation energy approaches the C exciton energy. This study can be extended to various vdWHs to deeply understand their Raman spectra, moiré phonons, lattice dynamics, excitonic effects, and interlayer coupling.

Bilayers of Janus WSSe: monitoring the stacking type via the vibrational spectrum

Motivated by the recent successful synthesis of Janus type single layers of transition metal dichalcogenides, we investigate the stability, vibrational and electronic properties of the Janus single layer structure of WSSe and its bilayers by means of density functional theory. The structural and vibrational analysis show that the Janus single layer of WSSe forms a dynamically stable structure in the 2H phase. Owing to its non-centrosymmetric structure, the Janus WSSe single layer has two in-plane (E) and two out-of-plane (A) Raman active phonon modes. The eigen-frequencies of the prominent Raman active modes are calculated to be 277 (A) and 322 (E) cm-1. Similar to single layer WS2 and WSe2, Janus WSSe is a direct band gap semiconductor that has two electronically different faces. In addition, the possible bilayer stacking orders of the Janus WSSe single layers are investigated. It is found that there are 3 stacking types of bilayer Janus WSSe and each stacking type has distinctive Raman characteristics in its vibrational spectrum. Our results show that thanks to the vibrational characteristics, which stem from the distinctive interlayer interactions at different sides, the stability and stacking types of the bilayer of WSSe Janus structure can be monitored.

Raman spectroscopy of graphene-based materials and its applications in related devices

Graphene-based materials exhibit remarkable electronic, optical, and mechanical properties, which has resulted in both high scientific interest and huge potential for a variety of applications. Furthermore, the family of graphene-based materials is growing because of developments in preparation methods. Raman spectroscopy is a versatile tool to identify and characterize the chemical and physical properties of these materials, both at the laboratory and mass-production scale. This technique is so important that most of the papers published concerning these materials contain at least one Raman spectrum. Thus, here, we systematically review the developments in Raman spectroscopy of graphene-based materials from both fundamental research and practical (i.e., device applications) perspectives. We describe the essential Raman scattering processes of the entire first- and second-order modes in intrinsic graphene. Furthermore, the shear, layer-breathing, G and 2D modes of multilayer graphene with different stacking orders are discussed. Techniques to determine the number of graphene layers, to probe resonance Raman spectra of monolayer and multilayer graphenes and to obtain Raman images of graphene-based materials are also presented. The extensive capabilities of Raman spectroscopy for the investigation of the fundamental properties of graphene under external perturbations are described, which have also been extended to other graphene-based materials, such as graphene quantum dots, carbon dots, graphene oxide, nanoribbons, chemical vapor deposition-grown and SiC epitaxially grown graphene flakes, composites, and graphene-based van der Waals heterostructures. These fundamental properties have been used to probe the states, effects, and mechanisms of graphene materials present in the related heterostructures and devices. We hope that this review will be beneficial in all the aspects of graphene investigations, from basic research to material synthesis and device applications.

Discrimination and quantification of sulfathiazole polytypes using low-frequency Raman spectroscopy

Low-frequency Raman spectroscopy has advantage to discriminate and quantify polymorphs where common 2D superstructures are piled up with different mode.