Jianping Shi

Controlled Growth of High-Quality Monolayer WS2 Layers on Sapphire and Imaging Its Grain Boundary

Atomically thin tungsten disulfide (WS2), a structural analogue to MoS2, has attracted great interest due to its indirect-to-direct band-gap tunability, giant spin splitting, and valley-related physics. However, the batch production of layered WS2 is underdeveloped (as compared with that of MoS2) for exploring these fundamental issues and developing its applications. Here, using a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition method, we demonstrate that high-crystalline mono- and few-layer WS2 flakes and even complete layers can be synthesized on sapphire with the domain size exceeding 50 × 50 μm(2). Intriguingly, we show that, with adding minor H2 carrier gas, the shape of monolayer WS2 flakes can be tailored from jagged to straight edge triangles and still single crystalline. Meanwhile, some intersecting triangle shape flakes are concomitantly evolved from more than one nucleus to show a polycrystalline nature. It is interesting to see that, only through a mild sample oxidation process, the grain boundaries are easily recognizable by scanning electron microscopy due to its altered contrasts. Hereby, controlling the initial nucleation state is crucial for synthesizing large-scale single-crystalline flakes. We believe that this work would benefit the controlled growth of high-quality transition metal dichalcogenide, as well as in their future applications in nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, and solar energy conversions.

Controllable Growth and Transfer of Monolayer MoS2 on Au Foils and Its Potential Application in Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Controllable synthesis of monolayer MoS2 is essential for fulfilling the application potentials of MoS2 in optoelectronics and valleytronics, etc. Herein, we report the scalable growth of high quality, domain size tunable (edge length from ∼ 200 nm to 50 μm), strictly monolayer MoS2 flakes or even complete films on commercially available Au foils, via low pressure chemical vapor deposition method. The as-grown MoS2 samples can be transferred onto arbitrary substrates like SiO2/Si and quartz with a perfect preservation of the crystal quality, thus probably facilitating its versatile applications. Of particular interest, the nanosized triangular MoS2 flakes on Au foils are proven to be excellent electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction, featured by a rather low Tafel slope (61 mV/decade) and a relative high exchange current density (38.1 μA/cm(2)). The excellent electron coupling between MoS2 and Au foils is considered to account for the extraordinary hydrogen evolution reaction activity. Our work reports the synthesis of monolayer MoS2 when introducing metal foils as substrates, and presents sound proof that monolayer MoS2 assembled on a well selected electrode can manifest a hydrogen evolution reaction property comparable with that of nanoparticles or few-layer MoS2 electrocatalysts.

Dendritic, transferable, strictly monolayer MoS2 flakes synthesized on SrTiO3 single crystals for efficient electrocatalytic applications.

Controllable synthesis of macroscopically uniform, high-quality monolayer MoS2 is crucial for harnessing its great potential in optoelectronics, electrocatalysis, and energy storage. To date, triangular MoS2 single crystals or their polycrystalline aggregates have been synthesized on insulating substrates of SiO2/Si, mica, sapphire, etc., via portable chemical vapor deposition methods. Herein, we report a controllable synthesis of dendritic, strictly monolayer MoS2 flakes possessing tunable degrees of fractal shape on a specific insulator, SrTiO3. Interestingly, the dendritic monolayer MoS2, characterized by abundant edges, can be transferred intact onto Au foil electrodes and serve as ideal electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction, reflected by a rather low Tafel slope of ∼73 mV/decade among CVD-grown two-dimensional MoS2 flakes. In addition, we reveal that centimeter-scale uniform, strictly monolayer MoS2 films consisting of relatively compact domains can also be obtained, offering insights into promising applications such as flexible energy conversion/harvesting and optoelectronics.

Unravelling Orientation Distribution and Merging Behavior of Monolayer MoS2 Domains on Sapphire

Monolayer MoS2 prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has a highly polycrystalline nature largely because of the coalescence of misoriented domains, which severely hinders its future applications. Identifying and even controlling the orientations of individual domains and understanding their merging behavior therefore hold fundamental significance. In this work, by using single-crystalline sapphire (0001) substrates, we designed the CVD growth of monolayer MoS2 triangles and their polycrystalline aggregates for such purposes. The obtained triangular MoS2 domains on sapphire were found to distributively align in two directions, which, as supported by density functional theory calculations, should be attributed to the relatively small fluctuations of the interface binding energy around the two primary orientations. Using dark-field transmission electron microscopy, we further imaged the grain boundaries of the aggregating domains and determined their prevalent armchair crystallographic orientations with respect to the adjacent MoS2 lattice. The coalescence of individual triangular flakes governed by unique kinetic processes is proposed for the polycrystal formation. These findings are expected to shed light on the controlled MoS2 growth toward predefined domain orientation and large domain size, thus enabling its versatile applications in next-generation nanoelectronics and optoelectronics.

All Chemical Vapor Deposition Synthesis and Intrinsic Bandgap Observation of MoS2/Graphene Heterostructures

A facile all-chemical vapor deposition approach is designed, which allows both sequentially grown Gr and monolayer MoS2 in the same growth process, thus allowing the direct construction of MoS2 /Gr vertical heterostructures on Au foils. A weak n-doping effect and an intrinsic bandgap of MoS2 are obtained from MoS2 /Gr/Au via scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy characterization. The exciton binding energy is accurately deduced by combining photoluminescence measurements.

Substrate Facet Effect on the Growth of Monolayer MoS2 on Au Foils

MoS2 on polycrystalline metal substrates emerges as an intriguing growth system compared to that on insulating substrates due to its direct application as an electrocatalyst in hydrogen evolution. However, the growth is still indistinct with regard to the effects of the inevitably evolved facets. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that the crystallography of Au foil substrates can mediate a strong effect on the growth of monolayer MoS2, where large-domain single-crystal MoS2 triangles are more preferentially evolved on Au(100) and Au(110) facets than on Au(111) at relative high growth temperatures (>680 °C). Intriguingly, this substrate effect can be weakened at a low growth temperature (∼530 °C), reflected with uniform distributions of domain size and nucleation density among the different facets. The preferential nucleation and growth on some specific Au facets are explained from the facet-dependent binding energy of MoS2 according to density functional theory calculations. In brief, this work should shed light on the effect of substrate crystallography on the synthesis of monolayer MoS2, thus paving the way for achieving batch-produced, large-domain or domain size-tunable growth through an appropriate selection of the growth substrate.

Temperature-Mediated Selective Growth of MoS2/WS2 and WS2/MoS2 Vertical Stacks on Au Foils for Direct Photocatalytic Applications

A growth-temperature-mediated two-step chemical vapor deposition strategy is designed to synthesize MoS2 /WS2 and WS2 /MoS2 stacks on Au foils. Predominantly A-A stacked MoS2 /WS2 and A-B stacked WS2 /MoS2 are selectively achieved and confirmed. Relative enhancements or reductions in photocatalytic activities of MoS2 /WS2 or WS2 /MoS2 are observed under illumination, because the type-II band alignment enables directional electron flow from electrode to active site.

A universal etching-free transfer of MoS2 films for applications in photodetectors

Transferring MoS2 films from growth substrates onto target substrates is a critical issue for their practical applications. Moreover, it remains a great challenge to avoid sample degradation and substrate destruction, because the current transfer method inevitably employs a wet chemical etching process. We developed an etching-free transfer method for transferring MoS2 films onto arbitrary substrates by using ultrasonication. Briefly, the collapse of ultrasonication-generated microbubbles at the interface between polymer-coated MoS2 film and substrates induce sufficient force to delaminate the MoS2 films. Using this method, the MoS2 films can be transferred from all substrates (silica, mica, strontium titanate, and sapphire) and retains the original sample morphology and quality. This method guarantees a simple transfer process and allows the reuse of growth substrates, without involving any hazardous etchants. The etching-free transfer method is likely to promote broad applications of MoS2 in photodetectors.

Chemical vapor deposition of monolayer WS2 nanosheets on Au foils toward direct application in hydrogen evolution

Monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS2), a typical member of the semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide family, has drawn considerable interest because of its unique properties. Intriguingly, the edge of WS2 exhibits an ideal hydrogen binding energy, which makes WS2 a potential alternative to Pt-based electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we demonstrate for the first time the successful synthesis of uniform monolayer WS2 nanosheets on centimeter-scale Au foils using a facile, low-pressure chemical vapor deposition method. The edge lengths of the universally observed triangular WS2 nanosheets are tunable from ∼100 to ∼1,000 nm. The WS2 nanosheets on Au foils featuring abundant edges were then discovered to be efficient catalysts for the HER, exhibiting a rather high exchange current density of ∼30.20 μA/cm2 and a small onset potential of ∼110 mV. The effects of coverage and domain size (which correlate closely with the active edge density of WS2) on the electrocatalytic activity were investigated. This work not only provides a novel route toward the batch-production of monolayer WS2 via the introduction of metal foil substrates but also opens up its direct application for facile HER.

Morphological Engineering of CVD‐Grown Transition Metal Dichalcogenides for Efficient Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution

2D layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have emerged as new possibilites beyond conventional particulate catalysts in facilitating efficient electrochemical hydrogen evolution. This is mainly mediated by the ultrahigh surface-to-volume ratio and the effective coupling of all active sites with supporting electrodes. Especially, the facile chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method has enabled morphological engineering of monolayer TMDC catalysts toward development of abundant active edge sites within the 2D plane. Here, two pathways to achieve such purpose are highlighted, either by non-equilibrium growth of MoS2 dendrites or throughout high-density nucleation of MoS2 nanoflakes directly on the electrode materials. Furthermore, future research directions have also been proposed and discussed to further enhance the efficiency of such unique catalysts.