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Synthesis and structure of two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides

  • 2D layered transition-metal dichalcogenides
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Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) exhibit unique electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties, which enable them to be used as building blocks in compact and lightweight integrated electronic systems. The controllable and reliable synthesis of atomically thin TMDCs is essential for their practical application. Recent progress in large-area synthesis of monolayer TMDCs paves the way for practical production of various 2D TMDC layers. The intrinsic optical and electrical properties of monolayer TMDCs can be defined by stoichiometry during synthesis. By manipulating the lattice structure or layer stacking manner, it is possible to create atomically thin van der Waals materials with unique and unexplored physical properties. In this article, we review recent developments in the synthesis of TMDC monolayers, alloys, and heterostructures, which shine light on the design of novel TMDCs with desired functional properties.

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Acknowledgements

L.J.L. and Y.S. thank support from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the USA AFOSR BRI grant. W.H.C. and L.J.L. acknowledge support from the Center for Interdisciplinary Science of NCTU, Taiwan Consortium of Emergent Crystalline Materials (TCECM) and Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (Grant No.: NSC102–2119-M-009 -002 -MY3). H.S.S. thanks support from the NRF grant (No. 20140610011) and a grant (CASE-2014M3A6A5060939) from the Center for Advanced Soft Electronics under the Global Frontier Research Program through the National Research Foundation funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning, Korea. This work was supported by MOE under AcRF Tier 2 (ARC 26/13, No. MOE2013-T2–1-034), AcRF Tier 1 (RG 61/12, RGT18/13, and RG5/13), and Start-Up Grant (M4080865.070.706022), and Singapore Millennium Foundation in Singapore. Research was also conducted by NTU-HUJ-BGU Nanomaterials for the Energy and Water Management Programme under the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise, which is supported by the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia

    Yumeng Shi

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

    Hua Zhang

  3. Department of Electrophysics, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan

    Wen-Hao Chang

  4. Department of Chemistry and Department of Energy Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea

    Hyeon Suk Shin

  5. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia

    Lain-Jong Li

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Shi, Y., Zhang, H., Chang, WH. et al. Synthesis and structure of two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides. MRS Bulletin 40, 566–576 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2015.121

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