Effect of the strain on spin-valley transport properties in MoS2 superlattice

Rashba effect: a chemical physicist's approach

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the emergence of giant spin splitting (GSS) is fundamental in the pursuit of more robust strategies for designing materials with desired spin splitting. This drive for material innovation continues to captivate a burgeoning community of early-career researchers with backgrounds in chemistry and material science. However, new to the field, they are often equipped only with the insight provided by the original Bychkov-Rashba model. Furthermore, daunted by the tight-binding perspective on the non-vanishing orbital angular momentum (OAM), they struggle to accurately account for the atomic spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in the formation of GSS. To address these challenges and equip young chemists with better-suited tools, this review aims to provide a more intuitive perspective on atomic interactions (orbital hybridization), structure symmetry, and atomic SOI in the formation of GSS. In pursuit of this goal, the review explores the Bychkov-Rashba model, its advantages, and limitations. Subsequently, it introduces the orbital framework, wherein GSS is modulated by atomic SOI and the interplay of OAM with the surface electrostatic field. Given the explicit dependence of both these factors on OAM, the review examines why OAM is typically quenched in crystal structures and how chemical bonds involving different orbital types can lead to its non-zero values in the presence of inversion symmetry breaking. Finally, with this chemistry-focused perspective, the review examines the rise of GSS in selected examples.

Thermal and mechanical characterization of nanoporous two-dimensional MoS2 membranes

For practical application, determining the thermal and mechanical characterization of nanoporous two-dimensional MoS₂ membranes is critical. To understand the influences of the temperature and porosity on the mechanical properties of single-layer MoS₂ membrane, uniaxial and biaxial tensions were conducted using molecular dynamics simulations. It was found that Young’s modulus, ultimate strength, and fracture strain reduce with the temperature increases. At the same time, porosity effects were found to cause a decrease in the ultimate strength, fracture strain, and Young’s modulus of MoS₂ membranes. Because the pore exists, the most considerable stresses will be concentrated around the pore site throughout uniaxial and biaxial tensile tests, increasing the possibility of fracture compared to tensing the pristine membrane. Moreover, this article investigates the impacts of temperature, porosity, and length size on the thermal conductivity of MoS₂ membrane using the non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) method. The results show that the thermal conductivity of the MoS₂ membrane is strongly dependent on the temperature, porosity, and length size. Specifically, the thermal conductivity decreases as the temperature increases, and the thermal conductivity reduces as the porosity density increases. Interestingly, the thermal and mechanical properties of the pristine MoS₂ membrane are similar in armchair and zigzag directions.