Carbide-free one-zone sulfurization method grows thin MoS₂ layers on polycrystalline CVD diamond

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Advanced engineering materials and composites are crucial for technological advancements.
• Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is a promising material with unique properties.
• Polycrystalline diamond offers a high specific surface area for material deposition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate few-layer MoS₂ on polycrystalline diamond substrates.
• To investigate the influence of molybdenum film thickness on MoS₂ crystallographic orientation.
• To explore the interfacial reactions between MoS₂ and diamond during fabrication.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of MoS₂ via sulfurization of pre-deposited molybdenum coatings.
• Characterization using grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
• Controlled sulfurization to prevent diffusion and interfacial reactions.

Main Results:

• Few-layer MoS₂ was successfully deposited on polycrystalline diamond.
• Initial molybdenum film thickness dictated the c-axis crystallographic orientation of MoS₂.
• Sulfurization effectively suppressed molybdenum diffusion into the diamond substrate, preventing Mo₂C formation.

Conclusions:

• The developed method allows for controlled fabrication of MoS₂ on diamond.
• The absence of interfacial Mo₂C formation is a key advantage.
• The resulting material, combining diamond's surface area and MoS₂'s properties, shows potential for water splitting and disinfection.