Electronic and structural characterisation of polycrystalline platinum disulfide thin films

We employ a combination of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) to investigate the properties of layered PtS₂, synthesised via thermally assisted conversion (TAC) of a metallic Pt thin film. STM measurements reveal the 1T crystal structure of PtS₂, and the lattice constant is determined to be 3.58 ± 0.03 Å. STS allowed the electronic structure of individual PtS₂ crystallites to be directly probed and a bandgap of ∼1.03 eV was determined for a 3.8 nm thick flake at liquid nitrogen temperature. These findings substantially expand understanding of the atomic and electronic structure of PtS₂ and indicate that STM is a powerful tool capable of locally probing non-uniform polycrystalline films, such as those produced by TAC. Prior to STM/STS measurements the quality of synthesised TAC PtS₂ was analysed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. These results are of relevance to applications-focussed studies centred on PtS₂ and may inform future efforts to optimise the synthesis conditions for thin film PtS₂.