Application-Oriented Growth of a Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS₂) Single Layer by Means of Parametrically Optimized Chemical Vapor Deposition

• Main Authors: Pinakapani Tummala, Alessio Lamperti, Mario Alia, Erika Kozma, Luca Giampaolo Nobili, Alessandro Molle
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-06-01
• Series: Materials
• Subjects: 2D materials; transition metal dichalcogenides; molybdenum disulfide; chemical vapor deposition
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/12/2786

In the 2D material framework, molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) was originally studied as an archetypical transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) material. The controlled synthesis of large-area and high-crystalline MoS₂ remains a challenge for distinct practical applications from electronics to electrocatalysis. Among the proposed methods, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a promising way for synthesizing high-quality MoS₂ from isolated domains to a continuous film because of its high flexibility. Herein, we report on a systematic study of the effects of growth pressure, temperature, time, and vertical height between the molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃) source and the substrate during the CVD process that influence the morphology, domain size, and uniformity of thickness with controlled parameters over a large scale. The substrate was pretreated with perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid tetrapotassium salt (PTAS) seed molecule that promoted the layer growth of MoS₂. Further, we characterized the as-grown MoS₂ morphologies, layer quality, and physical properties by employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL). Our experimental findings demonstrate the effectiveness and versatility of the CVD approach to synthesize MoS₂ for various target applications.