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Transformation of monolayer MoS2 into multiphasic MoTe2: Chalcogen atom-exchange synthesis route

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Abstract

Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2), which is an important transition-metal dichalcogenide, has attracted considerable interest owing to its unique properties, such as its small bandgap and large Seebeck coefficient. However, the batch production of monolayer MoTe2 has been rarely reported. In this study, we demonstrate the synthesis of large-domain (edge length exceeding 30 μm), monolayer MoTe2 from chemical vapor deposition-grown monolayer MoS2 using a chalcogen atom-exchange synthesis route. An in-depth investigation of the tellurization process reveals that the substitution of S atoms by Te is prevalently initiated at the edges and grain boundaries of the monolayer MoS2, which differs from the homogeneous selenization of MoS2 flakes with the formation of alloyed Mo−S−Se hybrids. Moreover, we detect a large compressive strain (approximately −10%) in the transformed MoTe2 lattice, which possibly drives the phase transition from 2H to 1T’ at the reaction temperature of 500 °C. This phase change is substantiated by experimental facts and first-principles calculations. This work introduces a novel route for the templated synthesis of two-dimensional layered materials through atom substitutional chemistry and provides a new pathway for engineering the strain and thus the intriguing physics and chemistry.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge financial support by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51472008, 51290272, 51471004, and 51672307), the National High-tech R&D Program of China (No. 2016YFA0200103), the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2014CB921002), the Open Research Fund Program of the State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics (No. KF201601), the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDB07030200) and the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, CAS (No. QYZDB-SSW-JSC035).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Qiyi Fang, Zhepeng Zhang, Siya Zhu, Yu Zhang, Jianping Shi, Xiebo Zhou, Qian Wang & Yanfeng Zhang

  2. Center for Nanochemistry (CNC), Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Qiyi Fang, Zhepeng Zhang, Qingqing Ji, Yu Zhang, Jianping Shi, Xiebo Zhou & Yanfeng Zhang

  3. Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Siya Zhu & Qian Wang

  4. Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Yue Gong & Lin Gu

  5. Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, 100190, China

    Yue Gong & Lin Gu

  6. School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Yue Gong & Lin Gu

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  1. Qiyi Fang
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Correspondence to Yanfeng Zhang.

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Fang, Q., Zhang, Z., Ji, Q. et al. Transformation of monolayer MoS2 into multiphasic MoTe2: Chalcogen atom-exchange synthesis route. Nano Res. 10, 2761–2771 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1480-z

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