Direct Visualization of Electric-Field-Induced Structural Dynamics in Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Akshay A. Murthy, Teodor K. Stanev, Roberto Dos Reis, Shiqiang Hao, Christopher Wolverton, Nathaniel P. Stern, Vinayak P. Dravid*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides offer many attractive features for next-generation low-dimensional device geometries. Due to the practical and fabrication challenges related to in situ methods, the atomistic dynamics that give rise to realizable macroscopic device properties are often unclear. In this study, in situ transmission electron microscopy techniques are utilized in order to understand the structural dynamics at play, especially at interfaces and defects, in the prototypical film of monolayer MoS2 under electrical bias. Through our sample fabrication process, we clearly identify the presence of mass transport in the presence of a lateral electric field. In particular, we observe that the voids present at grain boundaries combine to induce structural deformation. The electric field mediates a net vacancy flux from the grain boundary interior to the exposed surface edge sites that leaves molybdenum clusters in its wake. Following the initial biasing cycles, however, the mass flow is largely diminished and the resultant structure remains stable over repeated biasing. We believe insights from this work can help explain observations of nonuniform heating and preferential oxidation at grain boundary sites in these materials.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1569-1576
Number of pages8
JournalACS nano
Volume14
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 25 2020

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. DMR-1507810 and DMR-1929356. This work made use of the EPIC, Keck-II, and SPID facilities of Northwestern University’s NU ANCE Center, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205); the MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720319) at the Materials Research Center; the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); the Keck Foundation; and the State of Illinois, through the IIN. This work also made use of a cryostat platform for confocal microscopy (AttoCube AttoDry 2100, supported by Office of Naval Research N00014-18-1-2131). A.A.M. gratefully acknowledges support from the Ryan Fellowship and the IIN at Northwestern University. T.K.S. was supported by the Office of Naval Research (N00014-16-1-3055). DFT calculations were conducted using the high performance computational resources at Northwestern University and supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences under grant DE-SC0014520. The authors thank Dr. Anahita Pakzad and Dr. Benjamin Miller from Gatan, Inc, Pleasanton, CA, for the valuable feedback on the usage of K3-IS direct detector. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. DMR-1507810 and DMR-1929356. This work made use of the EPIC, Keck-II, and SPID facilities of Northwestern University's NU ANCE Center, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205); the MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720319) at the Materials Research Center; the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); the Keck Foundation; and the State of Illinois, through the IIN. This work also made use of a cryostat platform for confocal microscopy (AttoCube AttoDry 2100, supported by Office of Naval Research N00014-18-1-2131). A.A.M. gratefully acknowledges support from the Ryan Fellowship and the IIN at Northwestern University. T.K.S. was supported by the Office of Naval Research (N00014-16-1-3055). DFT calculations were conducted using the high performance computational resources at Northwestern University and supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Science Basic Energy Sciences under grant DE-SC0014520. The authors thank Dr. Anahita Pakzad and Dr. Benjamin Miller from Gatan, Inc, Pleasanton CA, for the valuable feedback on the usage of K3-IS direct detector.

Keywords

  • MoS
  • electrical transport
  • grain boundaries
  • in situ electron microscopy
  • transition metal dichalcogenides

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • General Engineering
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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