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Development and application of single source precursors for semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide thin films Victoria K. Greenacre 1* , Shibin Thomas 1 , Jiapei Zhang 2 , Nikolay Zhelev 1 , Sami Ramadan 3 , Yisong Han 4 , Richard Beanland 4 , Nema M. Abdelazim 2 , Yasir J. Noori 2 , C. H. Kees de Groot 2 , Philip N. Bartlett 1 , Gill Reid 1 1 School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Southampton, UK. 2 School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK. 3 Department of Materials, Imperial College London, UK. 4 Department of Physics, University of Warwick, UK. E-mail: V.K.Greenacre@soton.ac.uk Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), are highly anisotropic 2D materials, analogous to graphene, except with tuneable band-gaps. They are comprised of ME 2 (M = metal; E = S, Se, Te) repeating subunits. TMDC’s are attracting significant interest to fill the global demand for smaller and more efficient next- generation electronic and optoelectronic devices. This requires few-layer, crystalline growth on the micron scale with defect-free layers and interfaces and is technologically extremely challenging. [1] Electrodeposition is a scalable, cost effective and area-selective deposition method which avoids requirements for post-deposition patterning or subsequent material transfer. Achieving this for TMDCs would represent a significant technological advance, and with careful design, could allow semiconductor materials to be directly grown into pre-designed or flexible substrates, allowing production of wearable devices or small devices for Internet of Things applications
We have developed bespoke single source precursors (incorporating M and E into the same molecular entity) for the electrodeposition of mono/few-layer MoS 2 from [MoS 4 ][ n Bu 4 N] 2 and WS 2 from [WS 2 Cl 4 ] [Et 4 N] 2 directly onto patterned graphene. [2, 3] Our interdisciplinary team has also recently reported the growth of few-layer WSe 2 from the edge of a thin nano-band electrode, over an insulator channel, allowing for direct in-situ measurements of the electronic properties, and with potential for use in devices. [4] Key words: Electrodeposition, Materials, Precursors, Thin-Films, TMDC. References 1. P.N. Bartlett et al., Nat. Rev. Chem ., in press , 2025, doi:10.1038/s41570-024-00671-6. 2. Y.J Noori et al., 2D Mater ., 2022, 9 , 015025. 3. Y.J Noori et al., ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces , 2020, 12 , 44, 49786–49794. 4. S. Thomas et al., J. Mater. Chem. C , 2024, 12 , 19191-19199.
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