Phase Engineering of Nanomaterials: Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Abstract

Crystal phase, a critical structural characteristic beyond the morphology, size, dimension, facet, etc., determines the physicochemical properties of nanomaterials. As a group of layered nanomaterials with polymorphs, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted intensive research attention due to their phase-dependent properties. Therefore, great efforts have been devoted to the phase engineering of TMDs to synthesize TMDs with controlled phases, especially unconventional/metastable phases, for various applications in electronics, optoelectronics, catalysis, biomedicine, energy storage and conversion, and ferroelectrics. Considering the significant progress in the synthesis and applications of TMDs, we believe that a comprehensive review on the phase engineering of TMDs is critical to promote their fundamental studies and practical applications. This Review aims to provide a comprehensive introduction and discussion on the crystal structures, synthetic strategies, and phase-dependent properties and applications of TMDs. Finally, our perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in phase engineering of TMDs will also be discussed.

A Mini Review: Phase Regulation for Molybdenum Dichalcogenide Nanomaterials

“…According to the above discussion, phase transformation can occur mainly in two ways, electronic doping and mechanical shift. Many techniques can realize these two mechanisms, and basically, we divide them into two categories, direct synthesis [ 56 ] and post processing [ 57 , 58 ].…”