Elucidation of Novel Potassium-Mediated Oxidation and Etching of Two-Dimensional Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Preparation of edge-rich two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalocogenides (TMDs) has been actively investigated with the aim to improve their electrical and catalytic properties. Here, we elucidate the role of potassium ions in oxidation of TMDs and suggest a consequent novel anisotropic etching mechanism driven by self-running oxide droplets. We discover that potassium-mediated oxidation of MoS₂ leads to the formation of K-intercalated hexagonal-phase molybdenum oxides (h-KMoO₃), whereas orthorhombic-phase oxides are formed in the absence of potassium ions. Metastable h-KMoO₃ appears to have decomposed into oxide droplets at higher temperature. Self-running of the oxide droplets leads to layer-by-layer anisotropic etching of MoS₂ along the armchair direction. The motion of the droplets appears to be triggered by the surface energy instability between the oxide droplets and the underlying MoS₂ layer. This study opens new possibilities to design and manufacture novel edge-rich 2D TMDs that do not follow the equilibrium Wulff shape by modulating their oxidation with the assistance of alkali metals and also offers fundamental insights into the interactions between nanodroplets and 2D materials toward edge engineering.