Effects of in-plane stiffness and charge transfer on thermal expansion of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide

The temperature dependence of lattice constants is studied by using first-principles calculations to determine the effects of in-plane stiffness and charge transfer on the thermal expansions of monolayer semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides.Unlike the corresponding bulk material,our simulations show that monolayer MX2（M = Mo and W;X = S,Se,and Te） exhibits a negative thermal expansion at low temperatures,induced by the bending modes.The transition from contraction to expansion at higher temperatures is observed.Interestingly,the thermal expansion can be tailored regularly by alteration of the M or X atom.Detailed analysis shows that the positive thermal expansion coefficient is determined mainly by the in-plane stiffness,which can be expressed by a simple relationship.Essentially the regularity of this change can be attributed to the difference in charge transfer between the different elements.These findings should be applicable to other two-dimensional systems.