Hexagonal 2H Phase Research Articles

Molecular beam epitaxy growth of MoTe2 on hexagonal boron nitride

Hexagonal boron nitride has already been proven to serve as a decent substrate for high quality epitaxial growth of several 2D materials, such as graphene, MoSe2, MoS2 or WSe2. Here, we present for the first time the molecular beam epitaxy growth of MoTe2 on atomically smooth hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) substrate. Occurrence of MoTe2 in various crystalline phases such as distorted octahedral 1T’ phase with semimetal properties or hexagonal 2H phase with semiconducting properties opens a possibility of realization of crystal-phase homostructures with tunable properties. Atomic force microscopy studies of MoTe2 grown in a single monolayer regime enable us to observe impact of growth conditions on formation of various structures: flat grains, net of one-dimensional structures, quasi continuous monolayers with bilayer contribution. Comparison of the distribution of the thickness with Poisson distribution shows that tested growth conditions favorite formation of grains with monolayer thickness. The diffusion constant of MoTe2 grown on hBN can reach order of 10−6 cm2/s for typical growth conditions. Raman spectroscopy results suggest a coexistence of various phases with domination of 2H MoTe2 for samples grown at lower temperatures. XPS measurements confirm the stoichiometry of MoTe2.

Hybrid phase 1T/2H-MoS2 with controllable 1T concentration and its promoted hydrogen evolution reaction.

MoS2 has been investigated as a low-cost alternative to Pt in the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction. One of the promising methods to further activate MoS2 is phase engineering. MoS2 generally exhibits two kinds of crystalline phases: hexagonal 2H phase and octahedral 1T phase. 1T-MoS2 exhibits much better chemical/physical properties than natural semiconductor 2H-MoS2. However, 1T-MoS2 is metastable and its synthesis is still a challenge. Hybrid 1T/2H-MoS2 has been synthesized under relatively mild conditions, but controlling the 1T/2H ratio is still an issue which has not been discussed in detail. In this study, the synthesis methods of hybrid phase 1T/2H-MoS2 with controllable 1T concentration are investigated. The electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction is then evaluated for 1T/2H-MoS2 with different 1T concentrations by performing both experiments and theoretical calculations.

The nature of the structural phase transition from the hexagonal (4H) phase to the cubic (3C) phase of silver

The phase transition from the hexagonal 4H polytype of silver to the commonly known 3C (fcc) phase was studied in detail using x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and Raman spectroscopy. The phase transition is irreversible and accompanied by extensive microstructural changes and grain growth. Detailed scanning and isothermal calorimetric analysis suggests that it is an autocatalytic transformation. Though the calorimetric data suggest an exothermic first-order phase transition with an onset at 155.6 °C (for a heating rate of 2 K min−1) and a latent heat of 312.9 J g−1, the microstructure and the electrical resistance appear to change gradually from much lower temperatures. The 4H phase shows a Raman active mode at 64.3 cm−1 (at 4 K) that undergoes mode softening as the 4H → 3C transformation temperature is approached. A first-principles density functional theory calculation shows that the stacking fault energy of 4H-Ag increases monotonically with temperature. That 4H-Ag has a higher density of stacking faults than 3C-Ag, implies the metastability of the former at higher temperatures. Energetically, the 4H phase is intermediate between the hexagonal 2H phase and the 3C ground state, as indicated by the spontaneous transformation of the 2H to the 4H phase at −4 °C. Our data appear to indicate that the 4H-Ag phase is stabilized at reduced dimensions and thermally induced grain growth is probably responsible for triggering the irreversible transformation to cubic Ag.

Influence of Graphite as a Shaping Agent of Bi Molybdate Powders on Their Mechanical, Physicochemical, and Catalytic Properties

The influence of using graphite (G) as a shaping agent for bismuth molybdate (BiMo) catalysts was analyzed. Shaping was done by tableting, with addition of different loadings of graphite (0, 0.5, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 wt %). The use of graphite during the pressing of bismuth molybdate powders eases tableting because of the lubricating properties of the former. Furthermore, the compressive strength of BiMo-G tablets is higher than that of pure BiMo. Concerning the physicochemical properties of BiMo-G, XRD and XPS showed that graphite changes neither the relative distribution of the crystallographic phases of bismuth molybdate nor the oxidation state of bismuth and molybdenum in the tableted powders. Consequently, the shaped BiMo-G catalysts displayed similar, or slightly better, performances in the selective oxidation of propylene to acrolein. TGA analysis of samples of BiMo-G confirmed the thermal stability of the catalysts under oxidative conditions. Graphite was observed to experience crystallization into the hexagonal 2H phase during the catalytic tests. The results reported herein demonstrate that graphite is an effective shaping agent for bismuth molybdate powders.