On-device phase engineering

Xiaowei Liu; Junjie Shan; Tianjun Cao; Liang Zhu; Jiayu Ma; Gang Wang; Zude Shi; Qishuo Yang; Mingyu Ma; Zenglin Liu; Shengnan Yan; Lizheng Wang; Yudi Dai; Junlin Xiong; Fanqiang Chen; Buwei Wang; Chen Pan; Zhenlin Wang; Bin Cheng; Yongmin He; Xin Luo; Junhao Lin; Shi-Jun Liang; Feng Miao

doi:10.1038/s41563-024-01888-y

On-device phase engineering

Nat Mater. 2024 Apr 25. doi: 10.1038/s41563-024-01888-y. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xiaowei Liu^#¹, Junjie Shan^#¹, Tianjun Cao^#¹, Liang Zhu^#², Jiayu Ma^#³, Gang Wang², Zude Shi⁴, Qishuo Yang², Mingyu Ma⁴, Zenglin Liu¹, Shengnan Yan¹, Lizheng Wang¹, Yudi Dai¹, Junlin Xiong¹, Fanqiang Chen¹, Buwei Wang¹, Chen Pan⁵, Zhenlin Wang¹, Bin Cheng⁵, Yongmin He⁴, Xin Luo⁶, Junhao Lin^{7

8}, Shi-Jun Liang⁹, Feng Miao¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
² Department of Physics and Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Quantum Functional Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Magnetoelectric Physics and Devices, Centre for Physical Mechanics and Biophysics, School of Physics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, China.
⁵ Institute of Interdisciplinary Physical Sciences, School of Physics, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Magnetoelectric Physics and Devices, Centre for Physical Mechanics and Biophysics, School of Physics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China. luox77@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
⁷ Department of Physics and Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Quantum Functional Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China. linjh@sustech.edu.cn.
⁸ Quantum Science Center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Shenzhen, China. linjh@sustech.edu.cn.
⁹ National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. sjliang@nju.edu.cn.
¹⁰ National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. miao@nju.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38664497
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-024-01888-y

Abstract

In situ tailoring of two-dimensional materials' phases under external stimulus facilitates the manipulation of their properties for electronic, quantum and energy applications. However, current methods are mainly limited to the transitions among phases with unchanged chemical stoichiometry. Here we propose on-device phase engineering that allows us to realize various lattice phases with distinct chemical stoichiometries. Using palladium and selenide as a model system, we show that a PdSe₂ channel with prepatterned Pd electrodes can be transformed into Pd₁₇Se₁₅ and Pd₄Se by thermally tailoring the chemical composition ratio of the channel. Different phase configurations can be obtained by precisely controlling the thickness and spacing of the electrodes. The device can be thus engineered to implement versatile functions in situ, such as exhibiting superconducting behaviour and achieving ultralow-contact resistance, as well as customizing the synthesis of electrocatalysts. The proposed on-device phase engineering approach exhibits a universal mechanism and can be expanded to 29 element combinations between a metal and chalcogen. Our work highlights on-device phase engineering as a promising research approach through which to exploit fundamental properties as well as their applications.

Abstract

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