Strain Induced Phase Transition of WS2 by Local Dewetting of Au/Mica Film upon Annealing

Here, we present a proof-of-concept experiment where phase engineering at the nanoscale of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) flakes (from semiconducting 2H phase to metallic 1T phase) can be achieved by thermal annealing of a TMDC/Au/mica system. The local dewetting of Au particles and resu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Surfaces (Basel) 2021-03, Vol.4 (1), p.1-8
Main Authors: Kosmala, Tomasz, Palczynski, Pawel, Amati, Matteo, Gregoratti, Luca, Sezen, Hikmet, Mattevi, Cecilia, Agnoli, Stefano, Granozzi, Gaetano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Annealing
Bonding strength
Chemical vapor deposition
Defect annealing
Drying
Energy
Flakes (defects)
Mica
phase transition
Phase transitions
photoelectron microscopy
Photoelectrons
Scanning electron microscopy
Spectrum analysis
strain engineering
Sulfur
Tensile strain
Thin films
Transition metal compounds
transition metal dichalcogenides
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Summary:Here, we present a proof-of-concept experiment where phase engineering at the nanoscale of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) flakes (from semiconducting 2H phase to metallic 1T phase) can be achieved by thermal annealing of a TMDC/Au/mica system. The local dewetting of Au particles and resulting tensile strain produced on the TMDC flakes, strongly bound to the Au surface through effective S-Au bonds, can induce a local structural phase transition. An important role is also played by the defects induced by the thermal annealing: when vacancies are present, the threshold strain needed to trigger the phase transition is significantly reduced. Scanning photoelectron microscopy (SPEM) was revealed to be the perfect tool to monitor the described phenomena.
ISSN:2571-9637
2571-9637
DOI:10.3390/surfaces4010001