Dielectric screening of excitons and trions in single-layer MoS2

Toward Monolayered Solar Cells: Luminescence Properties and Light Soaking in TMDs

The optical and photonic characteristics of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) play a pivotal role in their functionality as solar cell materials, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and other electro-optical applications. In this study, we reveal the impact of prolonged illumination on the luminescence properties and Raman spectra of monolayered MoS2 and WS2─a process known as "light soaking". We find a light-induced transition from the physisorption to the chemisorption of ambient O2 and H2O molecules. In parallel, we observe the activation and passivation of defect sites in the samples (depending on their initial defect density), which is attributed to the adsorbed ambient molecules and the resulting light-driven interactions with defect sites. Thus, we can control the active defect density of monolayered TMDs and shed light on the fundamental mechanisms underlying their luminescence properties. Therefore, this work clarifies the source of changes to the luminescence properties of TMDs and opens the path toward their integration into advanced applications that may be affected by light soaking, such as solar cells and energy devices.

Recombination dynamics and manybody effect of excitons in large-area monolayer MoS2capped with (111) NiO epitaxial layer

CVD grown monolayer MoS2films on c-sapphire substrates are vacuum annealed and capped with (111) NiO epitaxial films using pulsed laser deposition technique. Time, energy and polarization resolved optical techniques are used to understand the effect of capping on the excitonic properties of the monolayer MoS2. It has been observed that trion contribution in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra increases after the capping, suggesting an enhancement of electron concentration in the conduction band. This has been attributed to the capping driven reduction of physisorbed air molecules from the sulphur vacancy (VS) sites. Note that the air molecules act as passivating agents for theVS-donors. Low temperature polarization resolved PL spectroscopy and ultrafast pump and probe transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) show an increase of the biexcitonic population in the system after the encapsulation. The TAS study further reveals longer lifetime for both A and B excitons in capped samples implying a reduction of non-radiative recombination rate of the excitons after the capping. It has also been observed that in the capped samples,K/K'valleys are populated with trions under sufficiently high pump powers. This has been attributed to the lower non-radiative recombination rates of the high energy photoexcited carriers and the faster transfer of either electrons or holes from the high energy pockets to theK/K'valleys. The study further reveals different many-body effects in excitons and trions.

Elucidating Solvatochromic Shifts in Two-Dimensional Photocatalysts by Solving the Bethe-Salpeter Equation Coupled with Implicit Solvation Method

Many studies have focused on tailoring the photophysical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials for photocatalytic (PC) or photoelectrochemical (PEC) applications. To understand the optical properties of 2D materials in solution, we established a computational method that combined the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) calculations with our GW-GPE method, allowing for GW/BSE-level calculations with implicit solvation described using the generalized Poisson equation (GPE). We applied this method to MoS2, phosphorene (PP), and g-C3N4 and found that when the solvent dielectric increased, it reduced the exciton binding energy and quasiparticle bandgap, resulting in almost no solvatochromic shift in the excitonic peaks of MoS2 and PP, which is consistent with previous experiments. However, our calculations predicted that the solvent dielectric had a significant impact on the excitonic properties of g-C3N4, exhibiting a large solvatochromic shift. We expect that our GW/BSE-GPE method will offer insights into the design of 2D materials for PC and PEC applications.

Thickness-dependent electronic relaxation dynamics in solution-phase redox-exfoliated MoS2 heterostructures

Electronic relaxation dynamics of solution-phase redox-exfoliated molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) monolayer and multilayer ensembles are described. MoS2 was exfoliated using polyoxometalate (POM) reductants. This process yields a colloidal heterostructure consisting of MoS2 2D sheet multilayers with surface-bound POM complexes. Using two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, transient bleaching and photoinduced absorption signals were detected at excitation/detection energies of 1.82/1.87 and 1.82/1.80 eV, respectively. Approximate 100-fs bandgap renormalization (BGR) and subsequent defect- and phonon-mediated relaxation on the picosecond timescale were resolved for several MoS2 thicknesses spanning from 1 to 2 L to ∼20 L. BGR rates were independent of sample thickness and slightly slower than observations for chemical vapor deposition-grown MoS2 monolayers. However, defect-mediated relaxation accelerated ∼10-fold with increased sample thicknesses. The relaxation rates increased from 0.33 ± 0.05 to 1.2 ± 0.1 and 3.1 ± 0.4 ps-1 for 1-2 L, 3-4 L, and 20 L fractions. The thicknesses-dependent relaxation rates for POM-MoS2 heterostructures were modeled using a saturating exponential function that showed saturation at thirteen MoS2 layers. The results suggest that the increased POM surface coverage leads to larger defect density in the POM-MoS2 heterostructure. These are the first descriptions of the influence of sample thickness on electronic relaxation rates in solution-phase redox-exfoliated POM-MoS2 heterostructures. Outcomes of this work are expected to impact the development of solution-phase exfoliation of 2D metal-chalcogenide heterostructures.

Charged Exciton Generation by Curvature-Induced Band Gap Fluctuations in Structurally Disordered Two-Dimensional Semiconductors

Curvature is a general factor for various two-dimensional (2D) materials due to their flexibility, which is not yet fully unveiled to control their physical properties. In particular, the effect of structural disorder with random curvature formation on excitons in 2D semiconductors is not fully understood. Here, the correlation between structural disorder and exciton formation in monolayer MoS2 on SiO2 was investigated by using photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. We found that the curvature-induced charge localization along with band gap fluctuations aid the formation of the localized charged excitons (such as trions). In the substrate-supported region, the trion population is enhanced by a localized charge due to the microscopic random bending strain, while the trion is suppressed in the suspended region which exhibits negligible bending strain, anomalously even though the dielectric screening effect is lower than that of the supported region. The redistribution of each exciton by the bending strain leads to a huge variation (∼100-fold) in PL intensity between the supported and suspended regions, which cannot be fully comprehended by external potential disorders such as a random distribution of charged impurities. The peak position of PL in MoS2/SiO2 is inversely proportional to the Raman peak position of E12g, indicating that the bending strain is correlated with PL. The supported regions exhibit an indirect portion that was not shown in the suspended regions or atomically flat substrates. The understanding of the structural disorder effect on excitons provides a fundamental path for optoelectronics and strain engineering of 2D semiconductors.

Anomalous layer-dependent photoluminescence spectra of supertwisted spiral WS2

Twisted stacking of two-dimensional materials with broken inversion symmetry, such as spiral MoTe2 nanopyramids and supertwisted spiral WS2, emerge extremely strong second- and third-harmonic generation. Unlike well-studied nonlinear optical effects in these newly synthesized layered materials, photoluminescence (PL) spectra and exciton information involving their optoelectronic applications remain unknown. Here, we report layer- and power-dependent PL spectra of the supertwisted spiral WS2. The anomalous layer-dependent PL evolutions that PL intensity almost linearly increases with the rise of layer thickness have been determined. Furthermore, from the power-dependent spectra, we find the power exponents of the supertwisted spiral WS2 are smaller than 1, while those of the conventional multilayer WS2 are bigger than 1. These two abnormal phenomena indicate the enlarged interlayer spacing and the decoupling interlayer interaction in the supertwisted spiral WS2. These observations provide insight into PL features in the supertwisted spiral materials and may pave the way for further optoelectronic devices based on the twisted stacking materials.

Optical grade transformation of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides via encapsulation annealing

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have emerged as highly promising candidates for optoelectronic applications due to their direct band gap and strong light-matter interactions. However, exfoliated TMDs have demonstrated optical characteristics that fall short of expectations, primarily because of significant defects and associated doping in the synthesized TMD crystals. Here, we report the improvement of optical properties in monolayer TMDs of MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2, by hBN-encapsulation annealing. Monolayer WSe2 showed 2000% enhanced photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and 1000% increased lifetime after encapsulation annealing at 1000 °C, which are attributed to dominant radiative recombination of excitons through dedoping of monolayer TMDs. Furthermore, after encapsulation annealing, the transport characteristics of monolayer WS2 changed from n-type to ambipolar, along with an enhanced hole transport, which also support dedoping of annealed TMDs. This work provides an innovative approach to elevate the optical grade of monolayer TMDs, enabling the fabrication of high-performance optoelectronic devices.

Janus monolayer PXC (X = As/Sb) for photocatalytic water splitting with a negative Poisson's ratio

Two-dimensional (2D) Janus materials have attracted considerable attention in photocatalysis owing to their robust redox capability and efficient segregation. In this study, we propose a novel Janus monolayer structure, denoted as PXC (X = As/Sb), exhibiting favorable stability in terms of dynamics, thermal properties, and mechanical characteristics. The PXC monolayers demonstrate a relatively smaller Young's modulus (132.5/119.5 N m-1 for PAsC/PSbC) and large negative Poisson's ratios (-0.15/-0.101 for PAsC/PSbC). Moreover, the HSE06 + SOC functional results show that PAsC/PSbC are indirect semiconductors with a 2.33/1.43 eV band gap, exhibiting a suitable band alignment for photocatalytic water splitting. The calculated high carrier mobility (104 cm2 V-1 s-1), along with a significant discrepancy, determined by the deformation potential theory and the built-up field induced by the large intrinsic dipole, effectively suppresses the recombination of photogenerated carriers. Furthermore, PXC monolayers possess a strong absorption capacity in the visible and ultraviolet light region (105 cm-1). Therefore, our results indicate that PXC monolayers hold great potential for application in the field of photocatalytic water splitting.

Direct Imaging of Carrier Funneling in a Dielectric Engineered 2D Semiconductor

In atomically thin transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), the environmental sensitivity of the strong Coulomb interaction offers promising approaches to create spatially varying potential landscapes in the same continuous material by tuning its dielectric environment. Thus, allowing for control of transport. However, a scalable and CMOS-compatible method for achieving this is required to harness these effects in practical applications. In addition, because of their ultrashort lifetime, observing the spatiotemporal dynamics of carriers in monolayer TMDCs, on the relevant time scale, is challenging. Here, we pattern and deposit a thin film of hafnium oxide (HfO2) via atomic layer deposition (ALD) on top of a monolayer of WSe2. This allows for the engineering of the dielectric environment of the monolayer and design of heterostructures with nanoscale spatial resolution via a highly scalable postsynthesis methodology. We then directly image the transport of photoexcitations in the monolayer with 50 fs time resolution and few-nanometer spatial precision, using a pump probe microscopy technique. We observe the unidirectional funneling of charge carriers, from the unpatterned to the patterned areas, over more than 50 nm in the first 20 ps with velocities of over 2 × 103 m/s at room temperature. These results demonstrate the possibilities offered by dielectric engineering via ALD patterning, allowing for arbitrary spatial patterns that define the potential landscape and allow for control of the transport of excitations in atomically thin materials. This work also shows the power of the transient absorption methodology to image the motion of photoexcited states in complex potential landscapes on ultrafast time scales.

Two-Channel Indirect-Gap Photoluminescence and Competition between the Conduction Band Valleys in Few-Layer MoS2

MoS2 is a two-dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenide with unique electronic and optical properties. The fabrication of ultrathin MoS2 is vitally important, since interlayer interactions in its ultrathin varieties will become thickness-dependent, providing thickness-governed tunability and diverse applications of those properties. Unlike with a number of studies that have reported detailed information on direct bandgap emission from MoS2 monolayers, reliable experimental evidence for thickness-induced evolution or transformation of the indirect bandgap remains scarce. Here, the sulfurization of MoO3 thin films with nominal thicknesses of 30 nm, 5 nm and 3 nm was performed. All sulfurized samples were examined at room temperature with spectroscopic ellipsometry and photoluminescence spectroscopy to obtain information about their dielectric function and edge emission spectra. This investigation unveiled an indirect-to-indirect crossover between the transitions, associated with two different Λ and K valleys of the MoS2 conduction band, by thinning its thickness down to a few layers.

Observation of Strong Anisotropic Interlayer Excitons

Anisotropic interlayer excitons had been theoretically predicted to exist in two-dimensional (2D) anisotropy/isotropy van der Waals heterojunctions. However, experimental results consolidating the theoretical prediction and exploring the related anisotropic optoelectronic response have not been reported so far. Herein, strong photoluminescence (PL) of anisotropic interlayer excitons is observed in a symmetric anisotropy/isotropy/anisotropy heterojunction exemplified by 3L-ReS2/1L-MoS2/3L-ReS2 using monolayer (1L) MoS2 and trilayer (3L) ReS2 as components. Sharp interlayer exciton PL peaks centered at ∼1.64, ∼1.61, and ∼1.57 eV are only observed at low temperatures of ≤120 K and become more pronounced as the temperature decreases. These interlayer excitons exhibit strong anisotropic PL intensity variations with periodicities of 180° as functions of the incident laser polarization angles. The polarization ratios of these interlayer excitons are calculated to be 1.33-1.45. Our study gives new insight into the manipulation of excitons in 2D materials and paves a new way for a rational design of novel anisotropic optoelectronic devices.

Charge Transfer and Asymmetric Coupling of MoSe2 Valleys to the Magnetic Order of CrSBr

van der Waals heterostructures composed of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides and vdW magnetic materials offer an intriguing platform to functionalize valley and excitonic properties in nonmagnetic TMDs. Here, we report magneto photoluminescence (PL) investigations of monolayer (ML) MoSe2 on the layered A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) semiconductor CrSBr under different magnetic field orientations. Our results reveal a clear influence of the CrSBr magnetic order on the optical properties of MoSe2, such as an anomalous linear-polarization dependence, changes of the exciton/trion energies, a magnetic-field dependence of the PL intensities, and a valley g-factor with signatures of an asymmetric magnetic proximity interaction. Furthermore, first-principles calculations suggest that MoSe2/CrSBr forms a broken-gap (type-III) band alignment, facilitating charge transfer processes. The work establishes that antiferromagnetic-nonmagnetic interfaces can be used to control the valley and excitonic properties of TMDs, relevant for the development of opto-spintronics devices.

Enhanced interactions of excitonic complexes in free-standing WS2

Excitonic complexes, bound states of electrons and holes, provide a promising platform in monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) semiconductors for investigating diverse many-body interaction phenomena. The surrounding dielectric environment has been found to strongly influence the excitonic properties of the TMDC monolayers. While the impact of different dielectric surroundings on two-dimensional semiconductor materials and their strong correlations have been well studied, the effects on exciton formation and its properties resulting from a further reduction in dielectric screening remain elusive. In this study, we examined free-standing tungsten disulfide (WS2) monolayers, where the efficient generation of higher-order correlated excitonic complexes is readily observed. This phenomenon arises from the effective mutual interactions among excitons and internal carriers, attributed to the modulated exciton dynamics generated by the further reduced dielectric screening effect in the freestanding structure. The formation efficiency of excitonic complexes is enhanced and the multiple biexciton species (five particles such as charged biexcitons and acceptor/donor-bound biexcitons) are successfully induced under low excitation intensity and moderate temperature conditions. Our findings offer valuable insights into the influence of the dielectric environment on exciton interactions and enable a productive avenue for exploring fundamental many-body interactions, providing new possibilities for dielectric engineering of atomic thin semiconductors.

Spatial Tuning of Light-Matter Interaction via Strain-Gradient-Induced Polarization in Freestanding Wrinkled 2D Materials

To date, controlled deformation of two-dimensional (2D) materials has been extensively demonstrated with substrate-supported structures. However, interfacial effects arising from these supporting materials may suppress or alter the unique behavior of the deformed 2D materials. To address interfacial effects, we report, for the first time, the formation of a micrometer-scale freestanding wrinkled structure of 2D material without any encapsulation layers where we observed the enhanced light-matter interactions with a spatial modulation. Freestanding wrinkled monolayer WSe2 exhibited about a 330% enhancement relative to supported wrinkled WSe2 quantified through photoinduced force microscopy. Spatial modulation and enhancement of light interaction in the freestanding wrinkled structures are attributed to the enhanced strain-gradient effect (i.e., out-of-plane polarization) enabled by removing the constraining support and proximate dielectrics. Our findings offer an additional degree of freedom to modulate the out-of-plane polarization and enhance the out-of-plane light-matter interaction in 2D materials.

Ultrafast carrier dynamics in vanadium-doped MoS2 alloys

Substitutional doping is a most promising approach to manipulate the electronic and optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). In addition to inducing magnetism, vanadium (V) doping can lead to semiconductor-metal transition in TMDCs. However, the dynamics of charge carriers that governs the optoelectronic properties of doped TMDCs has been rarely revealed. In this work, we have investigated the dynamics of photocarriers in pristine and V-doped monolayer (ML) MoS2. Comparison of the transient absorption (TA) spectra of ML MoS2 with lightly (≤1%) and heavily (3.62%) V-doped MoS2 infers the induction of additional energy states in the doped materials giving rise to new low energy bleach features in the TA spectra. The quasiparticle band structure of MoS2 is found to disappear at sufficiently high V doping due to the presence of impurity bands. An attempt has also been made to study the manipulation of the carrier lifetime with V doping in MoS2. Our TA kinetic measurements suggest that the decay kinetics of the carriers becomes slower with increasing doping percentage and at a higher doping level the carriers survive for a much longer time compared to pristine MoS2. Furthermore, we have identified a new electronic transition (NET) in heavily V-doped MoS2 at high pump fluences.

Lattice Vacancy Induced Energy Renormalization of Photonic Quasiparticles in Two-Dimensional Semiconductors

Coulomb interactions among dense charges and quasiparticle energy renormalization are at the center of quantum science because they significantly reshape the fundamental electronic and photonic properties of materials. While lattice vacancies are ubiquitous in solid materials, their physical effect on the Coulomb interaction among quasiparticles is normally weak and negligible. Here we show that in atomically thin semiconductors the presence of lattice vacancies emerges as an important but unexplored origin for the nontrivial renormalization of quasiparticle binding energies, due to the subtle modification of overall dielectric functions at low dimensionality. Such a renormalization effect leads to unusual reduction in the energy scales of photonic quasiparticles and red shifts of photoluminescence as the density of lattice vacancies increases. With strict configurative form factors derived, a dielectric screening model is also established for the generalized trilayer systems to capture the fine modification in the energy scales of quasiparticles and to elucidate the dielectric functions versus realistic Bohr lengths. This finding highlights the essential but commonly neglected role of lattice vacancies and deciphers the longstanding enigma of unpredictable photoluminescent line shifts in low-dimensional systems.

Observation of ~100% valley-coherent excitons in monolayer MoS2 through giant enhancement of valley coherence time

In monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide semiconductors, valley coherence degrades rapidly due to a combination of fast scattering and inter-valley exchange interaction. This leads to a sub-picosecond valley coherence time, making coherent manipulation of exciton a highly challenging task. Using monolayer MoS₂ sandwiched between top and bottom graphene, here we demonstrate fully valley-coherent excitons by observing ~100% degree of linear polarization in steady state photoluminescence. This is achieved in this unique design through a combined effect of (a) suppression in exchange interaction due to enhanced dielectric screening, (b) reduction in exciton lifetime due to a fast inter-layer transfer to graphene, and (c) operating in the motional narrowing regime. We disentangle the role of the key parameters affecting valley coherence by using a combination of calculation (solutions of Bethe-Salpeter and Maialle-Silva-Sham equations) and a careful choice of design of experiments using four different stacks with systematic variation of screening and exciton lifetime. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in which the excitons are found to be valley coherent in the entire lifetime in monolayer semiconductors, allowing optical readout of valley coherence possible.

Coulomb engineering of two-dimensional Mott materials

Two-dimensional materials can be strongly influenced by their surroundings. A dielectric environment screens and reduces the Coulomb interaction between electrons in the two-dimensional material. Since in Mott materials the Coulomb interaction is responsible for the insulating state, manipulating the dielectric screening provides direct control over Mottness. Our many-body calculations reveal the spectroscopic fingerprints of such Coulomb engineering: we demonstrate eV-scale changes to the position of the Hubbard bands and show a Coulomb engineered insulator-to-metal transition. Based on our proof-of-principle calculations, we discuss the (feasible) conditions under which our scenario of Coulomb engineering of Mott materials can be realized experimentally.

Evaluating strain and doping of Janus MoSSe from phonon mode shifts supported by ab initio DFT calculations

With the study of Janus monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, in which one of the two chalcogen layers is replaced by another type of chalcogen atom, research on two-dimensional materials is advancing into new areas. Yet only little is known about this new kind of material class, mainly due to the difficult synthesis. In this work, we synthesize MoSSe monolayers from exfoliated samples and compare their Raman signatures with density functional theory calculations of phonon modes that depend in a nontrivial way on doping and strain. With this as a tool, we can infer limits for the possible combinations of strain and doping levels. This reference data can be applied to all MoSSe Janus samples in order to quickly estimate their strain and doping, providing a reliable tool for future work. In order to narrow down the results for our samples further, we analyze the temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra and time-correlated single-photon counting measurements. The lifetime of Janus MoSSe monolayers exhibits two decay processes with an average total lifetime of 1.57 ns. Moreover, we find a strong trion contribution to the photoluminescence spectra at low temperature which we attribute to excess charge carriers, corroborating our ab initio calculations.

Trion Formation Resolves Observed Peak Shifts in the Optical Spectra of Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides

Monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (ML-TMDs) have the potential to unlock novel photonic and chemical technologies if their optoelectronic properties can be understood and controlled. Yet, recent work has offered contradictory explanations for how TMD absorption spectra change with carrier concentration, fluence, and time. Here, we test our hypothesis that the large broadening and shifting of the strong band-edge features observed in optical spectra arise from the formation of negative trions. We do this by fitting an ab initio based, many-body model to our experimental electrochemical data. Our approach provides an excellent, global description of the potential-dependent linear absorption data. We further leverage our model to demonstrate that trion formation explains the nonmonotonic potential dependence of the transient absorption spectra, including through photoinduced derivative line shapes for the trion peak. Our results motivate the continued development of theoretical methods to describe cutting-edge experiments in a physically transparent way.

Twist-angle-dependent momentum-space direct and indirect interlayer excitons in WSe2/WS2 heterostructure

Interlayer excitons (ILEs) in the van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures of type-II band alignment transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have attracted significant interest owing to their unique exciton properties and potential in quantum information applications. However, the new dimension that emerges with the stacking of structures with a twist angle leads to a more complex fine structure of ILEs, presenting both an opportunity and a challenge for the regulation of the interlayer excitons. In this study, we report the evolution of interlayer excitons with the twist angle in the WSe₂/WS₂ heterostructure and identify the direct (indirect) interlayer excitons by combining photoluminescence (PL) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Two interlayer excitons with opposite circular polarization assigned to the different transition paths of K-K and Q-K were observed. The nature of the direct (indirect) interlayer exciton was confirmed by circular polarization PL measurement, excitation power-dependent PL measurement and DFT calculations. Furthermore, by applying an external electric field to regulate the band structure of the WSe₂/WS₂ heterostructure and control the transition path of the interlayer excitons, we could successfully realize the regulation of interlayer exciton emission. This study provides more evidence for the twist-angle-based control of heterostructure properties.

Dielectrics for Two-Dimensional Transition-Metal Dichalcogenide Applications

Despite over a decade of intense research efforts, the full potential of two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides continues to be limited by major challenges. The lack of compatible and scalable dielectric materials and integration techniques restrict device performances and their commercial applications. Conventional dielectric integration techniques for bulk semiconductors are difficult to adapt for atomically thin two-dimensional materials. This review provides a brief introduction into various common and emerging dielectric synthesis and integration techniques and discusses their applicability for 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. Dielectric integration for various applications is reviewed in subsequent sections including nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, flexible electronics, valleytronics, biosensing, quantum information processing, and quantum sensing. For each application, we introduce basic device working principles, discuss the specific dielectric requirements, review current progress, present key challenges, and offer insights into future prospects and opportunities.

Surface asymmetry induced turn-overed lifetime of acoustic phonons in monolayer MoSSe

Recent successful growth of asymmetric transition metal dichalcogenides via accurate manipulation of different chalcogen atoms in top and bottom surfaces demonstrates exotic electronic and chemical properties in such Janus systems. Within the framework of density functional perturbation theory, anharmonic phonon properties of monolayer Janus MoSSe sheet are explored. By considering three-phonons scattering, out-of-plane flexural acoustic (ZA) mode tends to undergo a stronger phonon scattering than transverse acoustic (TA) mode and the longitudinal acoustic (LA) mode with phonon lifetime of ZA (1.0 ps) < LA (23.8 ps) < TA (25.8 ps). This is sharply different from the symmetric MoS₂ where flexural ZA mode has the weakest anharmonicity and is least scattered. Moreover, utilizing non-equilibrium Green function method, ballistic thermal conductance at room temperature is found to be around 0.11 nWK^-1nm^-2, lower than that of MoS₂. Our work highlights intriguing phononic properties of such MoSSe Janus layers associated with asymmetric surfaces.

Edge-Based Two-Dimensional α-In2Se3-MoS2 Ferroelectric Field Effect Device

Heterostructures based on two-dimensional materials offer the possibility to achieve synergistic functionalities, which otherwise remain secluded by their individual counterparts. Herein, ferroelectric polarization switching in α-In₂Se₃ has been utilized to engineer multilevel nonvolatile conduction states in a partially overlapping α-In₂Se₃-MoS₂-based ferroelectric semiconducting field effect device. In particular, we demonstrate how the intercoupled ferroelectric nature of α-In₂Se₃ allows to nonvolatilely switch between n-i and n-i-n type junction configurations based on a novel edge state actuation mechanism, paving the way for subnanometric scale nonvolatile device miniaturization. Furthermore, the induced asymmetric polarization enables enhanced photogenerated carriers' separation, resulting in an extremely high photoresponse of ∼1275 A/W in the visible range and strong nonvolatile modulation of the bright A- and B- excitonic emission channels in the overlaying MoS₂ monolayer. Our results show significant potential to harness the switchable polarization in partially overlapping α-In₂Se₃-MoS₂ based FeFETs to engineer multimodal, nonvolatile nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Charge Mobility and Strain Engineering in Two-Step MS-Grown MoS2/Seed Layer Heterointerface and Photo-Excitation Mechanism

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have potential application and wide development prospects in photoelectron and spintronic devices. However, the properties of different growth conditions are challenging to study in the future. This, in turn, hinders further research into 2D materials and the manufacture of high-quality devices. A comprehensive understanding of the ultrafast laser spectroscopy and dynamics that take into account the substrate-transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) interaction is lacking. Here, the strain effect is elucidated by systematically investigating the interfacial interaction between different substrates and MoS₂. The strain and interface engineering of MoS₂/seeds layer heterointerface and light-matter coupling are discussed in the Raman and photoluminescence spectra. The dramatic enhanced PL originates from the phase transition of MoS₂ on different substrates and electron-hole pairs dissociated by exciton screening effect. Finite-difference time-domain simulation confirmed that the electric field, magnetic field, and polarization field of the heterojunction system changed after the strain was applied. In addition, based on the dependence of physical parameters of MoS₂, the relative numerical changes of physical parameters of MoS₂ films on different substrates as well as the photoelectric transfer, strain, and charge doping levels on the surface or interface will provide a direction for optimizing the selection of various devices.

Self-assembled GA-Repeated Peptides as a Biomolecular Scaffold for Biosensing with MoS2 Electrochemical Transistors

Biosensors with two-dimensional materials have gained wide interest due to their high sensitivity. Among them, single-layer MoS2 has become a new class of biosensing platform owing to its semiconducting property. Immobilization of bioprobes directly onto the MoS2 surface with chemical bonding or random physisorption has been widely studied. However, these approaches potentially cause a reduction of conductivity and sensitivity of the biosensor. In this work, we designed peptides that spontaneously align into monomolecular-thick nanostructures on electrochemical MoS2 transistors in a non-covalent fashion and act as a biomolecular scaffold for efficient biosensing. These peptides consist of repeated domains of glycine and alanine in the sequence and form self-assembled structures with sixfold symmetry templated by the lattice of MoS2. We investigated electronic interactions of self-assembled peptides with MoS2 by designing their amino acid sequence with charged amino acids at both ends. Charged amino acids in the sequence showed a correlation with the electrical properties of single-layer MoS2, where negatively charged peptides caused a shift of threshold voltage in MoS2 transistors and neutral and positively charged peptides had no significant effect on the threshold voltage. The transconductance of transistors had no decrease due to the self-assembled peptides, indicating that aligned peptides can act as a biomolecular scaffold without degrading the intrinsic electronic properties for biosensing. We also investigated the impact of peptides on the photoluminescence (PL) of single-layer MoS2 and found that the PL intensity changed sensitively depending on the amino acid sequence of peptides. Finally, we demonstrated a femtomolar-level sensitivity of biosensing using biotinylated peptides to detect streptavidin.

Exfoliation procedure-dependent optical properties of solution deposited MoS2 films

The development of high-precision large-area optical coatings and devices comprising low-dimensional materials hinges on scalable solution-based manufacturability with control over exfoliation procedure-dependent effects. As such, it is critical to understand the influence of technique-induced transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) optical properties that impact the design, performance, and integration of advanced optical coatings and devices. Here, we examine the optical properties of semiconducting MoS2 films from the exfoliation formulations of four prominent approaches: solvent-mediated exfoliation, chemical exfoliation with phase reconversion, redox exfoliation, and native redox exfoliation. The resulting MoS2 films exhibit distinct refractive indices (n), extinction coefficients (k), dielectric functions (ε1 and ε2), and absorption coefficients (α). For example, a large index contrast of Δn ≈ 2.3 is observed. These exfoliation procedures and related chemistries produce different exfoliated flake dimensions, chemical impurities, carrier doping, and lattice strain that influence the resulting optical properties. First-principles calculations further confirm the impact of lattice defects and doping characteristics on MoS2 optical properties. Overall, incomplete phase reconfiguration (from 1T to mixed crystalline 2H and amorphous phases), lattice vacancies, intraflake strain, and Mo oxidation largely contribute to the observed differences in the reported MoS2 optical properties. These findings highlight the need for controlled technique-induced effects as well as the opportunity for continued development of, and improvement to, liquid phase exfoliation methodologies. Such chemical and processing-induced effects present compelling routes to engineer exfoliated TMDC optical properties toward the development of next-generation high-performance mirrors, narrow bandpass filters, and wavelength-tailored absorbers.

Interfacial-Water-Modulated Photoluminescence of Single-Layer WS2 on Mica

Because of their bandgap tunability and strong light-matter interactions, two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are considered promising candidates for next-generation optoelectronic devices. However, their photophysical properties are greatly affected by their surrounding environment because of their 2D nature. In this work, we report that the photoluminescence (PL) of single-layer WS₂ is substantially affected by interfacial water that is inevitably present between it and the supporting mica substrates. Using PL spectroscopy and wide-field imaging, we show that the emission signals from A excitons and their negative trions decreased at distinctively different rates with increasing excitation power, which could be attributed to the more efficient annihilation between excitons than between trions. By gas-controlled PL imaging, we also prove that the interfacial water converted the trions into excitons by depleting native negative charges through an oxygen reduction reaction, which rendered the excited WS₂ more susceptible to nonradiative decay via exciton-exciton annihilation. Understanding the role of nanoscopic water in complex low-dimensional materials will eventually contribute to devising their novel functions and related devices.

The Characteristics of the Metal-Free and Non-Conjugated Polymer Film with Self-Assembled Nanoparticles

It is shown in this paper that a polymer, MA-PEG 1000-DGEBA (MP1D), exhibits antireflection, substrate-dependent photoluminescence (SDP), wide band-gap, and photoconduction characterization. MP1D was synthesized from maleic anhydride, polyethylene glycol 1000, and bisphenol-A diglycidyl ether. Self-assembled nanoparticles embedded in MP1D film and ranging from 2.5 to 31.6 nm are observed, which could be expected as scatterers to enhance light trapping and extraction. The size of the nanoparticle increases with the concentration of the MP1D solution. Besides solution concentration, the nanoparticle dimension could be modified by the chain length of polyethylene glycol in the polymer synthesis. The effects of solution concentration, annealing temperature, annealing period, and substrate on the photoluminescence (PL) of MP1D films are examined. Increasing solution concentration increases PL intensity. However, aggregation-caused quenching is explicit as the solution concentration exceeds 100 mM. PL intensity increases with annealing temperature, which could be attributed to crystallinity improvement. PL intensity increases with increasing the annealing period from 0.5 to 2 h. Nonetheless, as the annealing period exceeds 2 h, PL quenching is emerging, which could be due to aggregation. It is expected that MP1D could be a promising candidate for host materials and MP1D film could play a multifunctional role (antireflective and light-trapping functions) in optoelectronics.

Discovery of Type II Interlayer Trions

In terms of interlayer trions, electronic excitations in van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) can be classified into Type I (i.e., two identical charges in the same layer) and Type II (i.e., two identical charges in the different layers). Type I interlayer trions are investigated theoretically and experimentally. By contrast, Type II interlayer trions remain elusive in vdWHs, due to inadequate free charges, unsuitable band alignment, reduced Coulomb interactions, poor interface quality, etc. Here, the first observation of Type II interlayer trions is reported by exploring band alignments and choosing an atomically thin organic-inorganic system-monolayer WSe₂ /bilayer pentacene heterostructure (1L + 2L HS). Both positive and negative Type II interlayer trions are electrically tuned and observed via PL spectroscopy. In particular, Type II interlayer trions exhibit in-plane anisotropic emission, possibly caused by their unique spatial structure and anisotropic charge interactions, which is highly correlated with the transition dipole moment of pentacene. The results pave the way to develop excitonic devices and all-optical circuits using atomically thin organic-inorganic bilayers.

Twist-Dependent Intra- and Interlayer Excitons in Moiré MoSe_{2} Homobilayers

Optoelectronic properties of van der Waals homostructures can be selectively engineered by the relative twist angle between layers. Here, we study the twist-dependent moiré coupling in MoSe_{2} homobilayers. For small angles, we find a pronounced redshift of the K-K and Γ-K excitons accompanied by a transition from K-K to Γ-K emission. Both effects can be traced back to the underlying moiré pattern in the MoSe_{2} homobilayers, as confirmed by our low-energy continuum model for different moiré excitons. We identify two distinct intralayer moiré excitons for R stacking, while H stacking yields two degenerate intralayer excitons due to inversion symmetry. In both cases, bright interlayer excitons are found at higher energies. The performed calculations are in excellent agreement with experiment and allow us to characterize the observed exciton resonances, providing insight about the layer composition and relevant stacking configuration of different moiré exciton species.

Discretized hexagonal boron nitride quantum emitters and their chemical interconversion

Quantum emitters in two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are of significant interest because of their unique photophysical properties, such as single-photon emission at room temperature, and promising applications in quantum computing and communications. The photoemission from hBN defects covers a wide range of emission energies but identifying and modulating the properties of specific emitters remain challenging due to uncontrolled formation of hBN defects. In this study, more than 2000 spectra are collected consisting of single, isolated zero-phonon lines (ZPLs) between 1.59 and 2.25 eV from diverse sample types. Most of ZPLs are organized into seven discretized emission energies. All emitters exhibit a range of lifetimes from 1 to 6 ns, and phonon sidebands offset by the dominant lattice phonon in hBN near 1370 cm^-1. Two chemical processing schemes are developed based on water and boric acid etching that generate or preferentially interconvert specific emitters, respectively. The identification and chemical interconversion of these discretized emitters should significantly advance the understanding of solid-state chemistry and photophysics of hBN quantum emission.

Nanoscale probing of surface potential landscape at MoS2/BP van der Waals p-n heterojunction

2D van der Waals heterostructure paves a path towards next generation semiconductor junctions for nanoelectronics devices in the post silicon era. Probing the band alignment at a real condition of such 2D contacts and experimental determination of its junction parameters is necessary to comprehend the charge diffusion and transport through such 2D nano-junctions. Here, we demonstrate the formation of the p-n junction at the MoS₂/Black phosphorene (BP) interface and conduct a nanoscale investigation to experimentally measure the band alignment at real conditions by means of measuring the spatial distribution of built-in potential, built-in electric field, and depletion width using the Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) technique. We show that optimization of lift scan height is critical for defining the depletion region of MoS₂/BP with nanoscale precision using the KPFM technique. The variations in the built-in potential and built-in electric field with varying thicknesses of MoS₂are revealed and calibrated.

Controllable growth of wafer-scale monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides ternary alloys with tunable band gap

The tuning of band gap is very important for the application of two-dimensional (2D) materials in optoelectronic devices. Alloying of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) is an important way to tune the wide band gap. In this study, we report a multi-step vapor deposition method to grow monolayer TMDC ternary alloy films with wafer scale, including Mo_1-xW_xS₂, Mo_1-xW_xSe₂and MoS_2xSe_2(1-x), which are accurately controllable in the elemental proportion (xis from 0 to 1). The band gap of the three 2D ternary alloy materials are continuously tuned for the whole range of metal and chalcogen compositions. The metal compositions are controlled by the as-deposited thickness. Raman, photoluminescence, elemental maps and TEM show the high spatial homogeneity in the compositions and optical properties across the whole wafer. The band gap can be continuously tuned from 1.86 to 1.99 eV for Mo_1-xW_xS₂, 1.56 to 1.65 eV for Mo_1-xW_xSe₂, 1.56 to 1.86 eV for MoS_2xSe_2(1-x). Electrical transport measurements indicate that Mo_1-xW_xS₂and MoS_2xSe_2(1-x)monolayers shown-type semiconductor behaviors, and the carrier types of Mo_1-xW_xSe₂can be tuned asn-type, bipolar andp-type. Moreover, this control process can be easily generalized to other 2D alloy films, even to quaternary or multi-element alloy materials. Our study presents a promising route for the preparation of large-scale homogeneous monolayer TMDC alloys and the application for future functional devices.

Substrate effects on the speed limiting factor of WSe2 photodetectors

We investigate the time-resolved photoelectric response of WSe₂ crystals on glass and flexible polyimide substrates to determine the effect of a changed dielectric environment on the speed of the photodetectors. We show that varying the substrate material can alter the speed-limiting mechanism: while the detectors on polyimide are RC limited, those on glass are limited by slower excitonic diffusion processes. We attribute this to a shortening of the depletion layer at the metal electrode/WSe₂ interface caused by the higher dielectric screening of glass compared to polyimide. The photodetectors on glass show a tunable bandwidth, which can be increased to 2.6 MHz with increasing the electric field.

Engineering the Dynamics and Transport of Excitons, Trions, and Biexcitons in Monolayer WS2

The study of transport and diffusion dynamics of quasi-particles such as excitons, trions, and biexcitons in two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors has opened avenues for their application in high-speed excitonic and optoelectronic devices. However, long-range transport and fast diffusion of these quasi-particles have not been reported for 2D systems such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). The reported diffusion coefficients from TMDCs are low, limiting their use in high-speed excitonic devices and other optoelectronic applications. Here, we report the highest exciton diffusion coefficient value in monolayer WS₂ achieved via engineering the radiative lifetime and diffusion lengths using static back-gate voltage and substrate engineering. Electrostatic doping is observed to modulate the radiative lifetime and in turn the diffusion coefficient of excitons by ∼three times at room temperature. By combining electrostatic doping and substrate engineering, we push the diffusion coefficient to an extremely high value of 86.5 cm²/s, which has not been reported before in TMDCs and is even higher than the values in some 1D systems. At low temperatures, we further report the control of dynamic and spatial diffusion of excitons, trions, and biexcitons from WS₂. The electrostatic control of dynamics and transport of these quasi-particles in monolayers establishes monolayer TMDCs as ideal candidates for high-speed excitonic circuits, optoelectronic, and photonic device applications.

Recent progress in 2D hybrid heterostructures from transition metal dichalcogenides and organic layers: properties and applications in energy and optoelectronics fields

Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) present extraordinary optoelectronic, electrochemical, and mechanical properties that have not been accessible in bulk semiconducting materials. Recently, a new research field, 2D hybrid heteromaterials, has emerged upon integrating TMDs with molecular systems, including organic molecules, polymers, metal-organic frameworks, and carbonaceous materials, that can tailor the TMD properties and exploit synergetic effects. TMD-based hybrid heterostructures can meet the demands of future optoelectronics, including supporting flexible, transparent, and ultrathin devices, and energy-based applications, offering high energy and power densities with long cycle lives. To realize such applications, it is necessary to understand the interactions between the hybrid components and to develop strategies for exploiting the distinct benefits of each component. Here, we provide an overview of the current understanding of the new phenomena and mechanisms involved in TMD/organic hybrids and potential applications harnessing such valuable materials in an insightful way. We highlight recent discoveries relating to multicomponent hybrid materials. Finally, we conclude this review by discussing challenges related to hybrid heteromaterials and presenting future directions and opportunities in this research field.

pH-Dependent Photophysical Properties of Metallic Phase MoSe2 Quantum Dots

Fluorescence properties of quantum dots (QDs) are critically affected by their redox states, which is important for practical applications. In this study, we investigated the optical properties of MoSe₂-metallic phase quantum-dots (MoSe₂-mQDs) depending on the pH variation, in which the MoSe₂-mQDs were dispersed in water with two sizes (Φ~3 nm and 12 nm). The larger MoSe₂-mQDs exhibited a large red-shift and broadening of photoluminescence (PL) peak with a constant UV absorption spectra as varying the pH, while the smaller ones showed a small red-shift and peak broadening, but discrete absorption bands in the acidic solution. The excitation wavelength-dependent photoluminescence shows that the PL properties of smaller MoSe₂-mQDs are more sensitive to the pH change compared to those of larger ones. From the time-resolved PL spectroscopy, the excitons dominantly decaying with an energy of ~3 eV in pH 2 clearly show the shift of PL peak to the lower energy (~2.6 eV) as the pH increases to 7 and 11 in the smaller MoSe₂-mQDs. On the other hand, in the larger MoSe₂-mQDs, the exciton decay is less sensitive to the redox states compared to those of the smaller ones. This result shows that the pH variation is more critical to the change of photophysical properties than the size effect in MoSe₂-mQDs.

Prediction of Strong Transversal s(TE) Exciton–Polaritons in C60 Thin Crystalline Films

If an exciton and a photon can change each other’s properties, indicating that the regime of their strong bond is achieved, it usually happens in standard microcavity devices, where the large overlap between the ’confined’ cavity photons and the 2D excitons enable the hybridization and the band gap opening in the parabolic photonic branch (as clear evidence of the strong exciton–photon coupling). Here, we show that the strong light–matter coupling can occur beyond the microcavity device setup, i.e., between the ’free’ s(TE) photons and excitons. The s(TE) exciton–polariton is a polarization mode, which (contrary to the p(TM) mode) appears only as a coexistence of a photon and an exciton, i.e., it vanishes in the non-retarded limit (c→∞). We show that a thin fullerene C60 crystalline film (consisting of N C60 single layers) deposited on an Al2O3 dielectric surface supports strong evanescent s(TE)-polarized exciton–polariton. The calculated Rabi splitting is more than Ω=500 meV for N=10, with a tendency to increase with N, indicating a very strong photonic character of the exciton–polariton.

Stabilization of Three-Particle Excitations in Monolayer MoS2 by Fluorinated Methacrylate Polymers

While extrinsic factors, such as substrates and chemical doping, are known to strongly influence visible photoemission from monolayer MoS₂, key fundamental knowledge for p-type polymeric dopants is lacking. We investigated perturbations to the electronic environment of 2D MoS₂ using fluorinated polymer coatings and specifically studied stabilization of three-particle states by monitoring changes in intensities and emission maxima of three-particle and two-particle emissions. We calculated changes in carrier density and trion binding energy, the latter having an additional contribution from MoS₂ polarization by the polymer. Polarization is further suggested by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements of large Fermi level shifts. Changes similar in magnitude, but opposite in sign, were observed in 2D MoS₂ coated with an analogous nonfluorinated polymer. These findings highlight the important interplay between electron exchange and electrostatic interactions at the interface between polymers and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), which govern fundamental electronic properties relevant to next-generation devices.

Chiral Excitonics in Monolayer Semiconductors on Patterned Dielectrics

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides feature tightly bound bright excitons at the degenerate valleys, where electron-hole Coulomb exchange interaction strongly couples the valley pseudospin to the momentum of the exciton. Placed on a periodically structured dielectric substrate, the spatial modulation of the Coulomb interaction leads to the formation of exciton Bloch states with real-space valley pseudospin texture displayed in a mesoscopic supercell. We find this spatial valley texture in the exciton Bloch function is pattern locked to the propagation direction, enabling nano-optical excitation of directional exciton flow through the valley selection rule. The left-right directionality of the injected exciton current is controlled by the circular polarization of excitation, while the angular directionality is controlled by the excitation location, exhibiting a vortex pattern in a supercell. The phenomenon is reminiscent of the chiral light-matter interaction in nanophotonics structures, with the role of the guided electromagnetic wave now replaced by the valley-orbit coupled exciton Bloch wave in a uniform monolayer, which points to new excitonic devices with nonreciprocal functionalities.

Direct Patterning of Optoelectronic Nanostructures Using Encapsulated Layered Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Direct top-down nanopatterning of semiconductors is a powerful tool for engineering properties of optoelectronic devices. Translating this approach to two-dimensional semiconductors such as monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) is challenging because of both the small scales required for confinement and the degradation of electronic and optical properties caused by high-energy and high-dose electron radiation used for high-resolution top-down direct electron beam patterning. We show that encapsulating a TMD monolayer with hexagonal boron nitride preserves the narrow exciton linewidths and emission intensity typical in such heterostructures after electron beam lithography, allowing direct patterning of functional optical monolayer nanostructures on scales of a few tens of nanometers. We leverage this fabrication method to study size-dependent effects on nanodot arrays of MoS2 and MoSe2 as well as laterally confined electrical transport devices, demonstrating the potential of top-down lithography for nanoscale TMD optoelectronics.

Engineering Relaxation-Paths of C-Exciton for Constructing Band Nesting Bypass in WS2 Monolayer

Transition-metal dichalcogenides exhibit strong photon absorption characteristics in the band nesting region (denoted as C-exciton) due to intrinsic van Hove singularities despite being atomically thin. However, because of unique parallel band structure and ineluctably unfavorable recombination process, only a small fraction of the hot carriers from C-excitons are converted into optically active band-edge excitons via inherent relaxation-paths. The resultant photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) is severely suppressed for the resonant excitation of C-exciton. To overcome this limitation, we have designed double type-I band alignments to construct a band nesting bypass in a monolayer WS₂/CdS quantum dot heterostructure for cooling the C-excitons. Transient optical measurements confirmed that the hot carriers from the C-excitons were effectively transferred from WS₂ to CdS with an efficiency of 50% and subsequently back to the WS₂ band-edge to form A-excitons over an ultrafast subpicosecond time scale, accompanied by a record high PLQY of ∼11.1% for near-resonance C-exciton excitation.

Theory of Excitons in Atomically Thin Semiconductors: Tight-Binding Approach

Atomically thin semiconductors from the transition metal dichalcogenide family are materials in which the optical response is dominated by strongly bound excitonic complexes. Here, we present a theory of excitons in two-dimensional semiconductors using a tight-binding model of the electronic structure. In the first part, we review extensive literature on 2D van der Waals materials, with particular focus on their optical response from both experimental and theoretical points of view. In the second part, we discuss our ab initio calculations of the electronic structure of MoS2, representative of a wide class of materials, and review our minimal tight-binding model, which reproduces low-energy physics around the Fermi level and, at the same time, allows for the understanding of their electronic structure. Next, we describe how electron-hole pair excitations from the mean-field-level ground state are constructed. The electron-electron interactions mix the electron-hole pair excitations, resulting in excitonic wave functions and energies obtained by solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation. This is enabled by the efficient computation of the Coulomb matrix elements optimized for two-dimensional crystals. Next, we discuss non-local screening in various geometries usually used in experiments. We conclude with a discussion of the fine structure and excited excitonic spectra. In particular, we discuss the effect of band nesting on the exciton fine structure; Coulomb interactions; and the topology of the wave functions, screening and dielectric environment. Finally, we follow by adding another layer and discuss excitons in heterostructures built from two-dimensional semiconductors.

Electron Doping of Semiconducting MoS2 Nanosheets by Silver or Gold Nanoclusters

Semiconducting two-dimensional (2D) materials have potential applications as ultrathin optoelectronic materials. Therefore, being able to precisely modulate the band gap is useful to improving their applicability. Electron doping of the semiconducting materials is one of the successful techniques used to modulate their band gap. Silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) or gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) a few nanometers in size can generate a high density of highly energetic hot electrons with relatively long lifetimes when photoexcited. The optical band gap of 2D MoS₂ nanosheets shows different responses when integrated with different amounts of AgNCs or AuNCs due to the electron doping effect. Introducing a small amount of the nanoclusters to the surface of a MoS₂ nanosheet lowered its optical band gap. Further reduction of the optical band gap of MoS₂ is obtained upon tripling the amount of integrated nanoclusters. Conversely, the optical band gap of MoS₂ was increased when integrated with 5 times the concentration of AuNCs and AgNCs. The optical band gap of the MoS₂ nanosheets was significantly increased when integrated with an even higher concentration of AuNCs or AgNCs. The magnitude of the shift of the optical band gap of MoS₂ induced by AgNCs is higher than that induced by AuNCs because the energy of LUMO of the AgNCs is higher than that of the AuNCs.

Excellent response to near ultraviolet light and large intervalley scatterings of electrons in 2D SnS2

Tin disulfide (SnS₂) has attracted much attention as a novel two dimensional material due to its potential applications in electronics and optoelectronics. In this work, we investigated the optical properties of ultra-thin SnS₂ film samples (∼8 nm) via spectroscopic ellipsometry, and found that SnS₂ maintains a relatively high imaginary part of the dielectric constant (ε₂) in the range of 256-377 nm indicating high optical response. The carrier transport properties of SnS₂ were investigated considering full mode-resolved electron-phonon couplings, which reveal that the intervalley scatterings between degenerate valley (peaks) states via the fifth optical branch phonons play a dominant role in electron scattering, while ZA phonons dominate the hole scattering. The calculated electron mobility is ∼50 cm² V^-1 s^-1 which is close to previously reported experimental results. By considering full el-ph interactions based on the rigid-band approximation, the maximum value of the thermoelectric figure of merit zT reaches 0.43 at 700 K. Our work not only reveals the promising applications of SnS₂ in the fields of electronics and optoelectronics, but also showcases the computational framework for precise calculations of thermoelectric performances.

Room-Temperature Observation of Near-Intrinsic Exciton Linewidth in Monolayer WS2

The homogeneous exciton linewidth, which captures the coherent quantum dynamics of an excitonic state, is a vital parameter in exploring light-matter interactions in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). An efficient control of the exciton linewidth is of great significance, and in particular of its intrinsic linewidth, which determines the minimum timescale for the coherent manipulation of excitons. However, such a control is rarely achieved in TMDs at room temperature (RT). While the intrinsic A exciton linewidth is down to 7 meV in monolayer WS₂ , the reported RT linewidth is typically a few tens of meV due to inevitable homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening effects. Here, it is shown that a 7.18 meV near-intrinsic linewidth can be observed at RT when monolayer WS₂ is coupled with a moderate-refractive-index hydrogenated silicon nanosphere in water. By boosting the dynamic competition between exciton and trion decay channels in WS₂ through the nanosphere-supported Mie resonances, the coherent linewidth can be tuned from 35 down to 7.18 meV. Such modulation of exciton linewidth and its associated mechanism are robust even in presence of defects, easing the sample quality requirement and providing new opportunities for TMD-based nanophotonics and optoelectronics.

Noncovalent Liquid Phase Functionalization of 2H-WS2 with PDI: An Energy Conversion Platform with Long-Lived Charge Separation

Transition metal dichalcogenides are attractive 2D materials in the context of solar energy conversion. Previous investigations have focused predominantly on the properties of these systems. The realization of noncovalent hybrids with, for example, complementary electroactive materials remains underexplored to this date for exfoliated WS₂. In this contribution, we explore WS₂ by means of exfoliation and integration together with visible light-absorbing and electron-accepting perylene diimides into versatile electron-donor acceptor hybrids. Important is the distinct electron-donating feature of WS₂. Detailed spectroscopic investigations of WS₂–PDI confirm the electron donor/acceptor nature of the hybrid and indicate that green light photoexcitation leads to the formation of long-lived WS₂^•+–PDI^•– charge-separated states.

Dominating Interlayer Resonant Energy Transfer in Type-II 2D Heterostructure

Type-II heterostructures (HSs) are essential components of modern electronic and optoelectronic devices. Earlier studies have found that in type-II transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) HSs, the dominating carrier relaxation pathway is the interlayer charge transfer (CT) mechanism. Here, this report shows that, in a type-II HS formed between monolayers of MoSe₂ and ReS₂, nonradiative energy transfer (ET) from higher to lower work function material (ReS₂ to MoSe₂) dominates over the traditional CT process with and without a charge-blocking interlayer. Without a charge-blocking interlayer, the HS area shows 3.6 times MoSe₂ photoluminescence (PL) enhancement as compared to the MoSe₂ area alone. In a completely encapsulated sample, the HS PL emission further increases by a factor of 6.4. After completely blocking the CT process, more than 1 order of magnitude higher MoSe₂ PL emission was achieved from the HS area. This work reveals that the nature of this ET is truly a resonant effect by showing that in a similar type-II HS formed by ReS₂ and WSe₂, CT dominates over ET, resulting in a severely quenched WSe₂ PL. This study not only provides significant insight into the competing interlayer processes but also shows an innovative way to increase the PL emission intensity of the desired TMD material using the ET process by carefully choosing the right material combination for HS.

Enhanced light-matter interaction in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) materials, such as MoS₂, WS₂, MoSe₂, and WSe₂, have received extensive attention in the past decade due to their extraordinary electronic, optical and thermal properties. They evolve from indirect bandgap semiconductors to direct bandgap semiconductors while their layer number is reduced from a few layers to a monolayer limit. Consequently, there is strong photoluminescence in a monolayer (1L) TMDC due to the large quantum yield. Moreover, such monolayer semiconductors have two other exciting properties: large binding energy of excitons and valley polarization. These properties make them become ideal materials for various electronic, photonic and optoelectronic devices. However, their performance is limited by the relatively weak light-matter interactions due to their atomically thin form factor. Resonant nanophotonic structures provide a viable way to address this issue and enhance light-matter interactions in 2D TMDCs. Here, we provide an overview of this research area, showcasing relevant applications, including exotic light emission, absorption and scattering features. We start by overviewing the concept of excitons in 1L-TMDC and the fundamental theory of cavity-enhanced emission, followed by a discussion on the recent progress of enhanced light emission, strong coupling and valleytronics. The atomically thin nature of 1L-TMDC enables a broad range of ways to tune its electric and optical properties. Thus, we continue by reviewing advances in TMDC-based tunable photonic devices. Next, we survey the recent progress in enhanced light absorption over narrow and broad bandwidths using 1L or few-layer TMDCs, and their applications for photovoltaics and photodetectors. We also review recent efforts of engineering light scattering, e.g., inducing Fano resonances, wavefront engineering in 1L or few-layer TMDCs by either integrating resonant structures, such as plasmonic/Mie resonant metasurfaces, or directly patterning monolayer/few layers TMDCs. We then overview the intriguing physical properties of different van der Waals heterostructures, and their applications in optoelectronic and photonic devices. Finally, we draw our opinion on potential opportunities and challenges in this rapidly developing field of research.