Chien-Chih Tseng

Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity of MoSx on TCNQ-Treated Electrode for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Molybdenum sulfide has recently attracted much attention because of its low cost and excellent catalytical effects in the application of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). To improve the HER efficiency, many researchers have extensively explored various avenues such as material modification, forming hybrid structures or modifying geometric morphology. In this work, we reported a significant enhancement in the electrocatalytic activity of the MoSx via growing on Tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) treated carbon cloth, where the MoSx was synthesized by thermolysis from the ammonium tetrathiomolybdate ((NH4)2MoS4) precursor at 170 °C. The pyridinic N- and graphitic N-like species on the surface of carbon cloth arising from the TCNQ treatment facilitate the formation of Mo(5+) and S2(2-) species in the MoSx, especially with S2(2-) serving as an active site for HER. In addition, the smaller particle size of the MoSx grown on TCNQ-treated carbon cloth reveals a high ratio of edge sites relative to basal plane sites, indicating the richer effective reaction sites and superior electrocatalytic characteristics. Hence, we reported a high hydrogen evolution rate for MoSx on TCNQ-treated carbon cloth of 6408 mL g(-1) cm(-2) h(-1) (286 mmol g(-1) cm(-2) h(-1)) at an overpotential of V = 0.2 V. This study provides the fundamental concepts useful in the design and preparation of transition metal dichalcogenide catalysts, beneficial in the development in clean energy.

High-Sulfur-Vacancy Amorphous Molybdenum Sulfide as a High Current Electrocatalyst in Hydrogen Evolution.

The remote hydrogen plasma is able to create abundant S-vacancies on amorphous molybdenum sulfide (a-MoSx ) as active sites for hydrogen evolution. The results demonstrate that the plasma-treated a-MoSx exhibits superior performance and higher stability than Pt in a proton exchange membrane based electrolyzers measurement as a proof-of-concept of industrial application.

Determination of band offsets at GaN/single-layer MoS2 heterojunction

We report the band alignment parameters of the GaN/single-layer (SL) MoS2 heterostructure where the GaN thin layer is grown by molecular beam epitaxy on CVD deposited SL-MoS2/c-sapphire. We confirm that the MoS2 is an SL by measuring the separation and position of room temperature micro-Raman E12g and A1g modes, absorbance, and micro-photoluminescence bandgap studies. This is in good agreement with HRTEM cross-sectional analysis. The determination of band offset parameters at the GaN/SL-MoS2 heterojunction is carried out by high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy accompanying with electronic bandgap values of SL-MoS2 and GaN. The valence band and conduction band offset values are, respectively, measured to be 1.86 ± 0.08 and 0.56 ± 0.1 eV with type II band alignment. The determination of these unprecedented band offset parameters opens up a way to integrate 3D group III nitride materials with 2D transition metal dichalcogenide layers for designing and modeling of their heterojunction based electr...

Band Alignment at GaN/Single-Layer WSe2 Interface

We study the band discontinuity at the GaN/single-layer (SL) WSe2 heterointerface. The GaN thin layer is epitaxially grown by molecular beam epitaxy on chemically vapor deposited SL-WSe2/c-sapphire. We confirm that the WSe2 was formed as an SL from structural and optical analyses using atomic force microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, micro-Raman, absorbance, and microphotoluminescence spectra. The determination of band offset parameters at the GaN/SL-WSe2 heterojunction is obtained by high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron affinities, and the electronic bandgap values of SL-WSe2 and GaN. The valence band and conduction band offset values are determined to be 2.25 ± 0.15 and 0.80 ± 0.15 eV, respectively, with type II band alignment. The band alignment parameters determined here provide a route toward the integration of group III nitride semiconducting materials with transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) for designing and modeling of their heterojunction-based electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Impact of N-plasma and Ga-irradiation on MoS2 layer in molecular beam epitaxy

Recent interest in two-dimensional materials has resulted in ultra-thin devices based on the transfer of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) onto other TMDs or III-nitride materials. In this investigation, we realized p-type monolayer (ML) MoS2, and intrinsic GaN/p-type MoS2 heterojunction by the GaN overgrowth on ML-MoS2/c-sapphire using the plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. A systematic nitrogen plasma ( N 2 *) and gallium (Ga) irradiation studies are employed to understand the individual effect on the doping levels of ML-MoS2, which is evaluated by micro-Raman and high-resolution X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HRXPS) measurements. With both methods, p-type doping was attained and was verified by softening and strengthening of characteristics phonon modes E 2 g 1 and A 1 g from Raman spectroscopy. With adequate N 2 *-irradiation (3 min), respective shift of 1.79 cm−1 for A 1 g and 1.11 cm−1 for E 2 g 1 are obtained while short term Ga-irradiated (30 s) exhibits the shift of 1.51 cm−1 for A ...

InGaN/GaN nanowires epitaxy on large-area MoS2 for high-performance light-emitters

The recent study of a wide range of layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) has created a new era for device design and applications. In particular, the concept of van der Waals epitaxy (vdWE) utilizing layered TMDCs has the potential to broaden the family of epitaxial growth techniques beyond the conventional methods. We report herein, for the first time, the monolithic high-power, droop-free, and wavelength tunable InGaN/GaN nanowire light-emitting diodes (NW-LEDs) on large-area MoS2 layers formed by sulfurizing entire Mo substrates. MoS2 serves as both a buffer layer for high-quality GaN nanowires growth and a sacrificial layer for epitaxy lift-off. The LEDs obtained on nitridated MoS2 via quasi vdWE show a low turn-on voltage of ∼2 V and light output power up to 1.5 mW emitting beyond the “green gap”, without an efficiency droop up to the current injection of 1 A (400 A cm−2), by virtue of high thermal and electrical conductivities of the metal substrates. The discovery of the nitride/layered TMDCs/metal heterostructure platform also ushers in the unparalleled opportunities of simultaneous high-quality nitrides growth for high-performance devices, ultralow-profile optoelectronics, energy harvesting, as well as substrate reusability for practical applications.