Understanding Solvent Effects on the Properties of Two-Dimensional Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have emerged as attractive direct bandgap semiconducting materials with remarkable properties. Recently, TMDC-based electronic and optoelectronic systems have been demonstrated with various chemical doping and functionalization approaches for modulating their physical properties and enhancing device performances. However, the dependence of intrinsic properties of TMDCs on diverse solvents, which are used necessarily in fabrication processes and chemical doping, remains largely unaddressed. Here we report a charge transfer mechanism in TMDCs by commonly used solvents such as chloroform, toluene, acetone, and 2-propanol, which significantly changes the physical properties of monolayer MoS2 and WSe2. We find that the relative difference in electronegativity between solvents and TMDCs drives the transfer of electrons from or to the TMDCs, which results in photoluminescence (PL) enhancement or quenching depending on the change of carrier density in TMDCs. The analysis of exciton and trion spectral weights in MoS2 as a function of solvent electronegativity provides evidence of charge transfer. Finally, conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) on TMDCs before and after immersion in the solvents further supports the charge transfer mechanism and resulting changes in carrier density. Our results highlight the importance of selection of solvents for solution-processed 2D TMDC devices and systems.