Enhanced photocurrent and photoluminescence spectra in MoS2 under ionic liquid gating

We report substantial improvements and modulation in the photocurrent （PC） and photoluminescence （PL） spectra of monolayer MoS2 recorded under electrostatic and ionic liquid gating conditions. The photocurrent and photo- luminescence spectra show good agreement with a dominant peak at 1.85 eV. The magnitude of the photoluminescence can be increased 300% by ionic liquid gating due to the passivation of surface states and trapped charges that act as recombination centers. The photocurrent also doubles when passivated by the ionic liquid. Interestingly, a significant shift of the PL peak position is observed under electrostatic （14 meV） and ionic liquid （30 meV） gating, as a result of passivation. The ionic liquid provides significant screening without any externally applied voltage, indicating that these surface recombination centers have net charge. The acute sensitivity of monolayer MoS2 to ionic liquid gating and passivation arises because of its high surface-to-volume ratio, which makes it especially sensitive to trapped charge and surface states. These results reveal that, in order for efficient optoelectronic devices to be made from monolayer MoS2, some passivation strategy must be employed to mitigate the issues associated with surface recombination.

Evidence for structural phase transitions and large effective band gaps in quasi-metallic ultra-clean suspended carbon nanotubes

We report evidence for a structural phase transition in individual suspended metallic carbon nanotubes by examining their Raman spectra and electron trans- port under electrostatic gate potentials. The current-gate voltage characteristics reveal anomalously large quasi-metallic band gaps as high as 240 meV, the largest reported to date. For nanotubes with band gaps larger than 200 meV, we observe a pronounced M-shape profile in the gate dependence of the 2D band （or G＇ band） Raman frequency. The pronounced dip （or softening） of the phonon mode near zero gate voltage can be attributed to a structural phase transition （SPT） that occurs at the charge neutrality point （CNP）. The 2D band Raman intensity also changes abruptly near the CNP, providing further evidence for a change in the lattice symmetry and a possible SPT. Pronounced non-adiabatic effects are observed in the gate dependence of the G band Raman mode, however, this behavior deviates from non-adiabatic theory near the CNP. For nanotubes with band gaps larger than 200 meV, non-adiabatic effects should be largely suppressed, which is not observed experimentally. This data suggests that these large effective band gaps are primarily caused by a SPT to an insulating state, which causes the large modulation observed in the conductance around the CNP. Possible mechanisms for this SPT are discussed, including electron-electron （e.g., Mott） and electron-phonon （e.g., Peierls） driven transitions.