Universal In Situ Substitutional Doping of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides by Liquid-Phase Precursor-Assisted...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Solid-State Physics

Background:

• Controlled doping is essential for tuning the properties of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs).
• Existing doping methods often face challenges in uniformity and controllability.
• Tuning electrical, optical, magnetic, and catalytic properties of TMDs holds potential for diverse applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, reproducible liquid-phase precursor-assisted approach for in situ substitutional doping of 2D TMDs.
• To achieve tunable doping concentrations in monolayered TMDs and their in-plane heterostructures.
• To demonstrate the versatility of the method by incorporating various transition metal dopants.

Main Methods:

• A sol-gel inspired liquid-phase precursor method was employed.
• High-temperature chalcogenation of spin-coated aqueous solutions containing host and dopant precursors.
• Atomic-level homogeneous mixing of precursors in the liquid phase before synthesis.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a highly reproducible route for in situ substitutional doping of 2D TMD monolayers and heterostructures.
• Achieved improved doping uniformity and controllability due to atomic-level precursor mixing.
• Successfully incorporated Fe into WS2, Re into MoS2, and V into W-Mo-S heterostructures.

Conclusions:

• The developed liquid-phase precursor method offers a universal approach for doping 2D TMDs.
• This method enables the creation of in-plane heterointerfaces in a single step.
• The approach paves the way for 2D electronics and spintronics applications.