Growth of large-area aligned pentagonal graphene domains on high-index copper surfaces

Single-crystal graphene domains grown by chemical vapor deposition （CVD） intrinsically tend to have a six-fold symmetry; however, several factors can influence the growth kinetics, which can in turn lead to the formation of graphene with different shapes. Here we report the growth of oriented large-area pentagonal single-crystal graphene domains on Cu foils by CVD. We found that high-index Cu planes contributed selectively to the formation of pentagonal graphene. Our results indicated that lattice steps present on the crystalline surface of the underlying Cu promoted graphene growth in the direction perpendicular to the steps and finally led to the disappearance of one of the edges forming a pentagon. In addition, hydrogen promoted the formation of pentagonal domains. This work provides new insights into the mechanism of graphene growth.

Metallic and ferromagnetic MoS2 nanobelts with vertically aligned edges

Edge effects are predicted to significantly impact the properties of low dimensional materials with layered structures. The synthesis of low dimensional materials with copious edges is desired for exploring the effects of edges on the band structure and properties of these materials. Here we developed an approach for synthesizing MoS2 nanobelts terminated with vertically aligned edges by sulfurizing hydrothermally synthesized MoO3 nanobelts in the gas phase through a kinetically driven process; we then investigated the electrical and magnetic properties of these metastable materials. These edge-terminated MoS2 nanobelts were found to be metallic and ferromagnetic, and thus dramatically different from the semiconducting and nonmagnetic two-dimensional （2D） and three-dimensional （3D） 2H-MoS2 materials. The transitions in electrical and magnetic properties elucidate the fact that edges can tune the properties of low dimensional materials. The unique structure and properties of this one-dimensional （1D） MoS2 material will enable its applications in electronics, spintronics, and catalysis.

Highly crystalline ReSe2 atomic layers synthesized by chemical vapor transport

Two-dimensional (2D) anisotropic rhenium diselenide (ReSe2) has attracted lots ofattention due to its promising applications in electronics and optoelectronics. However,controlled synthesis of high quality ultrathin ReSe2 remains as a challenge.Here we developed an approach for synthesizing high quality 2D ReSe2 flakes witha thickness down to monolayer by chemical vapor transport (CVT) through carefullytuning the growth kinetics. The atomic structures and anisotropy of theobtained ReSe2 flakes were intensively characterized with scanning transmissionelectron microscope and angle-resolved polarized Raman spectroscopy. Fieldeffecttransistors fabricated on the CVT-grown ReSe2 flakes showed n-typesemiconducting behavior with an on/off current ratio of 105 and a mobility up to
5 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is comparable to mechanically exfoliated flakes and isobvious higher than the samples synthesized with other approaches. This study notonly make high quality 2D ReSe2 easily accessible for both fundamental and applicationexplorations but also sheds new lights on the chemical synthesis of otheranisotropic 2D materials.

Carrier mobility tuning of MoS_(2) by strain engineering in CVD growth process

Strain engineering is proposed to be an effective technology to tune the properties of two-dimensional(2D)transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDCs).Conventional strain engineering techniques(e.g.,mechanical bending,heating)cannot conserve strain due to their dependence on external action,which thereby limits the application in electronics.In addition,the theoretically predicted strain-induced tuning of electrical performance of TMDCs has not been experimentally proved yet.Here,a facile but effective approach is proposed to retain and tune the biaxial tensile strain in monolayer MoS_(2) by adjusting the process of the chemical vapor deposition(CVD).To prove the feasibility of this method,the strain formation model of CVD grown MoS_(2) is proposed which is supported by the calculated strain dependence of band gap via the density functional theory(DFT).Next,the electrical properties tuning of strained monolayer MoS_(2) is demonstrated in experiment,where the carrier mobility of MoS_(2) was increased by two orders(~0.15 to~23 cm^(2)·V^(−1)·s^(−1)).The proposed pathway of strain preservation and regulation will open up the optics application of strain engineering and the fabrication of high performance electronic devices in 2D materials.