The microscopic process of oxidative etching of two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (2D MoS2) at an atomic scale is investigated using a correlative TEM-etching study. MoS2 flakes on graphene TEM grids are precisely tracked and characterized by TEM before and after the oxidative etching. This allows us to determine the structural change with an atomic resolution on the edges of the domains, of well-oriented triangular pits and along the grain boundaries. We observe that the etching mostly starts from the open edges, grain boundaries and pre-existing atomic defects. A zigzag Mo edge is assigned as the dominant termination of the triangular pits, and profound terraces and grooves are observed on the etched edges. Based on the statistical TEM analysis, we reveal possible routes for the kinetics of the oxidative etching in 2D MoS2, which should also be applicable for other 2D transition metal dichalcogenide materials like MoSe2 and WS2.
Understanding the microscopic mechanisms for the nucleation and growth of two-dimensional molybdenum diselenide (2D MoSe) via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is crucial towards the precisely controlled growth of the 2D material. In this work, we employed a joint use of transmission electron microscopy and CVD, in which the 2D MoSe were directly grown on a graphene membrane based on grids, that enables the microstructural characterization of as-grown MoSe flakes. We further explore the role of hydrogen gas and find: in an argon ambient, the primary products are few-layer MoSe flakes, along with MoO nanoparticles; while with the introduction of H, single-layer MoSe became the dominant product during the CVD growth. Quantitative analysis of the effects of H flow rate on the flake sizes, and areal coverage was also given. Nevertheless, we further illuminated the evolution of shape morphology and edge structures of single-layer MoSe, and proposed the associated growth routes during a typical CVD process.
In the present study, a novel method has been carried out to grow tungsten (W) doped molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) on the graphene transferred TEM grid in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) setup. Tungsten trioxide (WO3) has been used as a source for ‘W’ while ‘Mo’ has been derived from Mo based substrate. Different experimental parameters were used in this experiment. Higher gas flow rate decreases the size of the sample flake and on other side increases the dopant concentrations. The interaction mechanism between Mo, S, W and oxygen (O) have been explored. The influence of oxygen seems to be not avoidable completely which also imposes effective growth condition for the reaction of Mo with incoming sulfur atoms. The difference in the migration energies of Mo, WO3, S clusters on the graphene and the higher reactivity of Mo clusters over other possibly formed atomic clusters on the graphene leads to the growth of W doped MoS2 monolayers. Formation of MoS2 monolayer and the nature of edge doping of ‘W’ is explained well with the crystal model using underlying nucleation principles. We believe our result provide a special route to prepare W doped MoS2 on graphene substrate in the future.
Triblock copolymers are playing important roles in nanomaterial synthesis, and the nanomaterial forming mechanisms need to be studied in detail. In situ liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a powerful tool for real time observation of the dynamic growth behavior of nanomaterials in liquid with high resolution, and could be used for the above task. Here we report the observation of the growth and self-assembly of Pt nanoclusters with the aid of an ethylene oxide-propylene oxide-ethylene oxide triblock copolymer (PEO-PPO-PEO) F127 using in situ liquid cell TEM, with the nanocluster growth and formation procedures being tracked. Nano objects were seen to appear, drift and rotate with time, and then form into certain shaped nanoclusters under the electron beam irradiation. Further interestingly, in the thicker liquid layer region, the nanoclusters appeared to be fluffy, with average size keeping increase with time, while in the thinner region, the clusters were thinner, and got densified with time. The difference in precursor availability due to liquid layer thickness and charging effects is attributed to such a phenomenon.
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