Batch production of 6-inch uniform monolayer molybdenum disulfide catalyzed by sodium in glass

Pengfei Yang,Jiapei Shu,Qing Chen,Xiaolong Zou,Zhongfan Liu,Yanfeng Zhang,Shulin Chen,Liyun Zhao,Peng Gao,Jianping Shi,Chunyu Xie,Yahuan Huan,Qing Zhang,Xiebo Zhou,Shaolong Jiang,Min Hong,Zhepeng Zhang

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03388-5

Abstract

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have become essential two-dimensional materials for their perspectives in engineering next-generation electronics. For related applications, the controlled growth of large-area uniform monolayer TMDs is crucial, while it remains challenging. Herein, we report the direct synthesis of 6-inch uniform monolayer molybdenum disulfide on the solid soda-lime glass, through a designed face-to-face metal-precursor supply route in a facile chemical vapor deposition process. We find that the highly uniform monolayer film, with the composite domains possessing an edge length larger than 400 µm, can be achieved within a quite short time of 8 min. This highly efficient growth is proven to be facilitated by sodium catalysts that are homogenously distributed in glass, according to our experimental facts and density functional theory calculations. This work provides insights into the batch production of highly uniform TMD films on the functional glass substrate with the advantages of low cost, easily transferrable, and compatible with direct applications.

Highlights

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have become essential two-dimensional materials for their perspectives in engineering next-generation electronics
For the batch production purpose, commercial soda-lime glass was selected as the growth substrate considering the following factors: first, its low cost and scalability guarantees the cost-effective production of MoS2/glass hybrid materials; second, its hydrophilicity feature facilitates the transfer of MoS2 films to other substrates; third, the MoS2/glass hybrid itself may serve as a prototype material for directly fabricating optical and photoelectric devices due to its relatively high transparency
The growth temperature in our system is set to 720 °C in order to preserve the original surface morphology of the glass substrate, providing higher potential for the batch production and the direct application of the hybrid material

Summary

Introduction

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have become essential two-dimensional materials for their perspectives in engineering next-generation electronics. We find that the highly uniform monolayer film, with the composite domains possessing an edge length larger than 400 μm, can be achieved within a quite short time of 8 min This highly efficient growth is proven to be facilitated by sodium catalysts that are homogenously distributed in glass, according to our experimental facts and density functional theory calculations. Direct band gap semiconductors, such as MoS2 and WS2, exhibit ultrahigh optical responsivity[6], efficient valley polarization[7,8] and strong light–matter coupling[9], making them highly promising materials for constructing electrical/optical and energy-related devices For such applications, the controllable synthesis of large-area uniform and large-domain monolayer TMDs is highly desired, while still challenging. We design a facile face-to-face metal-precursor supply strategy in the conventional CVD growth process, for synthesizing large-scale uniform, monolayer MoS2 by selecting a novel solid glass substrate and using Mo foil and sulfur as precursors. This work, hereby, provides novel insights into the batch production and transfer of macroscopic uniform TMD films, which will propel their practical applications in various fields

Methods

Results

Conclusion