Abstract
Probing the crystallographic orientation of two-dimensional (2D) materials is essential to understand and engineer their properties. However, the nondestructive identification of the lattice orientations of various 2D materials remains a challenge due to their very thin nature. Here, we identify the crystallographic structures of various 2D atomic crystals using molecules as probes by utilizing orientation-dependent molecule–substrate interactions. We discover that the periodic atomic packing of 2D materials guides oleamide molecules to assemble into quasi-one-dimensional nanoribbons with specific alignments which precisely indicate the lattice orientations of the underlying materials. Using oleamide molecules as probes, we successfully identify the crystallographic orientations of ~12 different 2D materials without degrading their intrinsic properties. Our findings allow for the nondestructive identification of the lattice structure of various 2D atomic crystals and shed light on the functionalization of these 2D materials with supramolecular assembly.
Highlights
We expect that periodic atomic arrangements of 2D atomic crystals result in periodic molecule–substrate interactions in the 2D plane and provide a unique landscape for aligning molecules
We ruled out the possible formation of oleamide nanoribbons in solution through dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements (Supplementary Fig. 6) and a control experiment on the self-assembly of 5, 10, 15, 20-tetraphenyl-21H, 23H-porphine cobalt (II) (CoTPP) on MoS2 (Supplementary Figs. 6 and 7), and confirmed that oleamide nanoribbons were formed on the surface of 2D materials instead of in solution
Universal and nondestructive identification with oleamide. As both experimental and theoretical studies have confirmed that oleamide molecules can be used to probe the lattice orientations of various 2D atomic crystals, we further demonstrated the applications of this approach to identifying the edge orientations, grain domain and stacking rotations, which all significantly affect the intrinsic properties of these materials
Summary
We expect that periodic atomic arrangements of 2D atomic crystals result in periodic molecule–substrate interactions in the 2D plane and provide a unique landscape for aligning molecules. Proceeding from this point, we explore the self-assembly of molecules on 2D atomic crystals from both experimental and theoretical aspects and successfully develop a universal, simple and nondestructive approach to identify the lattice structures of various 2D atomic crystals using molecules as probes.
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