Approaching strain limit of two-dimensional MoS2 via chalcogenide substitution

Kailang Liu; Xiang Chen; Penglai Gong; Ruohan Yu; Jinsong Wu; Liang Li; Wei Han; Sanjun Yang; Chendong Zhang; Jinghao Deng; Aoju Li; Qingfu Zhang; Fuwei Zhuge; Tianyou Zhai

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2021.07.010

Approaching strain limit of two-dimensional MoS₂ via chalcogenide substitution

Sci Bull (Beijing). 2022 Jan;67(1):45-53. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2021.07.010. Epub 2021 Jul 7.

Authors

Kailang Liu¹, Xiang Chen², Penglai Gong³, Ruohan Yu⁴, Jinsong Wu⁴, Liang Li⁵, Wei Han¹, Sanjun Yang¹, Chendong Zhang⁶, Jinghao Deng⁶, Aoju Li¹, Qingfu Zhang¹, Fuwei Zhuge¹, Tianyou Zhai⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
² Nano and Heterogeneous Materials Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China.
³ Department of Physics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Nanostructure Research Center, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China.
⁵ Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 231699, China.
⁶ School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China. Electronic address: zhaity@hust.edu.cn.

PMID: 36545958
DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2021.07.010

Abstract

Strain engineering is a promising method for tuning the electronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are capable of sustaining enormous strain thanks to their atomic thinness. However, applying a large and homogeneous strain on these 2D materials, including the typical semiconductor MoS₂, remains cumbersome. Here we report a facile strategy for the fabrication of highly strained MoS₂ via chalcogenide substitution reaction (CSR) of MoTe₂ with lattice inheritance. The MoS₂ resulting from the sulfurized MoTe₂ sustains ultra large in-plane strain (approaching its strength limit ~10%) with great homogeneity. Furthermore, the strain can be deterministically and continuously tuned to ~1.5% by simply varying the processing temperature. Thanks to the fine control of our CSR process, we demonstrate a heterostructure of strained MoS₂/MoTe₂ with abrupt interface. Finally, we verify that such a large strain potentially allows the modulation of MoS₂ bandgap over an ultra-broad range (~1 eV). Our controllable CSR strategy paves the way for the fabrication of highly strained 2D materials for applications in devices.

Keywords: 2D materials; Chalcogenide substitution; Controllable strain; Lattice inheritance; Strain engineering.