REVIEW
60 years of pss
2D Janus Transition Metal Dichalcogenides:
Properties and Applications
Xiao Tang and Liangzhi Kou*
The successful fabrication of Janus transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD)
monolayer has sparked extensive research interests in various fields, such as
nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, valleytronics, and catalysis. Janus TMDs
can not only inherit the advantages of conventional TMDs but also produce
novel properties which are different from their counterparts. The breaking of
vertical mirror symmetry can induce a variety of novel properties, such as
Rashba spin splitting, vertical piezoelectricity, and long exciton lifetime.
Moreover, the intrinsic electric field that originates from the vertical
asymmetry can serve as a superior platform for tuning the interlayer coupling
when forming van der Waals structures. In this mini review, the recent
key research progresses of 2D Janus TMDs, including the fundamental
properties and potential applications, are briefly summarized, and the
existing challenges are also presented.
1. Introduction
Structural symmetry breaking provides a remarkable platform
for inducing a wealth of fascinating properties in 2D materials.
For instance, inversion symmetry breaking engineered by a
vertical electric field (EF) can control the electronic gap of
graphene bilayer.[1] Twisted bilayer graphene with inversion
asymmetry gives rise to tunable second harmonic generation.[2]
Therefore, a large variety of strategies have been proposed to
break the symmetry in 2D materials and engineer the
electronic/magnetic/optical properties.[3–6] For instance, by
X. Tang
College of Science
Nanjing Forestry University
Nanjing 210037, P. R. China
L. Kou
School of Mechanical
Medical and Process Engineering
Queensland University of Technology
Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
E-mail: liangzhi.kou@qut.edu.au
The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article
can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/pssb.202100562.
© 2022 The Authors. physica status solidi (b) basic solid state physics
published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used
for commercial purposes.
DOI: 10.1002/pssb.202100562
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surface covalent functionalization, Janus
graphene was synthesized in experi-
ments.[7,8] The electronic structures could
be modulated by choosing n-type or p-type
functional groups.[9] In addition, some
other Janus 2D monolayers have also been
extensively investigated, such as Janus
graphene oxide nanosheets,[10] Janus sili-
cene,[11] and asymmetric double-sided
bilayer WSe2.[12] As a representative class
of 2D materials, transition metal dichalco-
genide (TMD) monolayers possess
intrinsic in-plane (IP) asymmetry, and
distinctive electronic and optical character-
istics. For instance, the IP asymmetry
generates finite Berry curvatures and
orbital magnetic moments with opposite
signs in two valleys, which lead to novel val-
ley-dependent optical characteristics.[13]
The IP asymmetry, together with strong spin–orbit coupling
(SOC) generates Zeeman-type spin splitting as well as valley
polarization in TMD monolayers.[14]
Nevertheless, the out-of-plane (OOP) symmetry is well
preserved in TMD monolayers, hindering their applications in
certain areas. For example, even though TMD monolayers exhibit
excellent stability, direct band structures, suitable bandgap, and
high carrier mobility, the lack of Rashba SOC and electric-
controlled spin precession impedes the application in spin
field-effect transistors.[15–17] In addition, owing to the high
exciton binding energy, the recombination of photogenerated
electron–hole (e–h) is very fast in 2D TMDs. The dramatically
low e–h separation efficiency would not facilitate light detection
and harvesting applications.[18] As for catalytic performance, the
overall catalytic activity of TMD-based catalysts is extremely limited
due to the small proportion of active edge sites. Tremendous
efforts have been devoted to maximally exposing the active
edge sites or activating the inert basal sites, but with little
improvement.[19,20]
The successful fabrications of Janus TMDs, an unconven-
tional asymmetry sandwich structure, offer a plethora of new
opportunities. The different electronegativity of top and bottom
chalcogen atoms produces an internal perpendicular EF. The
lack of OOP mirror symmetry is able to unlock novel features
for physical and chemical applications.[21–24] In this review, we
will first introduce the experimental synthesis of Janus TMD
monolayers and highlight their novel properties induced by
OOP asymmetry and potential applications. We then focus on
the effect of the internal EF on the interlayer interactions in
Janus van der Waals (vdW) structures. Finally, a conclusion
and the existing challenges will be presented (Figure 1).
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Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the review.
2. Recent Progresses of 2D Janus TMD
Monolayers
2.1. Synthesis of 2D Janus TMD Monolayers
Janus TMD monolayers were first synthesized in 2017 with two
different strategies. One proposed to utilize a modified MoS2
whose top S layers are substituted by H and followed by Se
powders vaporizing to achieve selenization. The H2 plasma
power and the selenization temperature play key roles in these
processes.[21] The other method starts from the MoSe2
monolayer, followed by well-controlled sulfurization of the top
Se layer (Figure 2a). To ensure top Se atoms are replaced, while
the Se atoms remain intact, appropriate temperature and pres-
sure are essential.[22] Both synthetic approaches result in uni-
formly distributed asymmetric structure, paving the way for
future applications. Recently, pulsed laser deposition (PLD)
has been explored to implant Se clusters with low kinetic energy
(<10 eV atom
1) into WS2 monolayer (Figure 2b). By controlling
the kinetic energy, complete top sulfur layer replacement by sele-
nium can be achieved, forming high-quality WSSe monolayers at
300  C. These findings provide insights to extend the synthesis of
Figure 2. a) Schematic diagram of the synthesis of the MoSSe with vapor deposition (CVD) methods starting from MoSe2. Reproduced with permis-
sion.[22] Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society. b) The synthesis of Janus WSSe by PLD. Reproduced with permission.[25] Copyright 2020, American
Chemical Society. c) Working scheme of SEAR process. Reproduced with permission.[26] Copyright 2020, Wiley-VCH.
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other 2D Janus layers.[25] However, the processing temperatures
are relatively high in the abovementioned methods. Very
recently, a room temperature method has been proposed to
fabricate a variety of high-quality Janus TMD layers and their het-
erostructures such as vertical MoSSe/WSSe, lateral WSSe/
MoSSe, and MoSSe/MoS2 by a selective epitaxy atomic replace-
ment (SEAR) process (Figure 2c). This process relies on precur-
sors, which helps efficient removal and substitution of the top
chalcogen layer.[26] Compared with previous methods, this tech-
nique shows significant advances to synthesize 2D Janus mate-
rials, and the mild processing temperature enables the formation
of high-quality heterostructures. These breakthroughs will pave
the way for exploring the fantastic physical phenomena of 2D
Janus TMDs and transferring the novel features into cutting-
edge applications.
2.2. Novel Properties of Janus TMD Monolayers
In contrast to traditional TMDs, Janus TMD monolayers have a
chemical formula MXY (M ¼ Mo, W; X, Y ¼ S, Se, Te). As shown
in Figure 3a, the transition metal layer in Janus TMD monolayer
is sandwiched by two distinct chalcogen layers. Compared to
conventional 2H-phase TMDs, the space group is transformed
from D3h to C3v. The vertical symmetry broken originates from
the electronegativity difference of X and Y atoms will give rise to
an intrinsic EF. Therefore, a variety of additional electronic,
optical, and catalytic features will be unlocked, offering new
opportunities for future applications.[27]
2.2.1. Rashba Effect
Strong SOC is one of the most representative characteristics of
semiconducting 2D TMDs, which is a relativistic effect that
describes the spin splitting under an effective magnetic field.[28]
The SOC effect together with IP inversion asymmetry in TMD
monolayer generates an effective Zeeman field, leading to oppo-
site spins at the þK and
K points of the momentum space. The
valley polarization could be applied to encode information.[29]
Due to the unique roles in locking the spin and valley degree
of freedom, Ising SOC shows great potential in valleytronic
and optoelectronic devices. However, in conventional TMD
monolayers, Rashba SOC would not arise due to the protection
of OOP mirror symmetry. Interestingly, it can appear in gated
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Figure 3. a) Structures of Janus TMD monolayer MXY (M ¼ Mo, W; X ¼ S, Se, Te). b) Spin texture of VBM around the Γ point, c) calculated band structure
with SOC, and d) schematic view of Rashba effect around the Γ point in WSSe monolayer. Reproduced with permission.[34] Copyright 2018, American
Physical Society. e) A schematic illustration of piezoelectricity in Janus TMD monolayer. Reproduced with permission.[39] Copyright 2017, American
Chemical Society. f ) Schematic diagram of the electron and hole wave functions for Janus MSSe. Reproduced with permission.[42] Copyright 2021
American Chemical Society.

TMDs or Janus TMDs,[29–31] and lead to a plethora of new dis- studies demonstrated the strong piezoelectric response in
coveries and useful applications.[28] It is commonly expressed stretched MoS2 monolayer, which is comparable to those conven-
with the Hamiltonian H R ¼ αR ðσ  kÞ ⋅ ẑ, where αR , σ, and k tional piezoelectric materials, such as α-quartz, AlN, and ZnO,
denote Rashba parameter, electron's spin, and the electron implying the potential in energy and electric applications. The
momentum, respectively.[32,33] The value of αR is normally used piezoelectric field, together with exciton properties in MoS2
to measure the Rashba strength. By first-principles investiga- monolayers, may extend their optoelectronic applications.
tions, it is found that in addition to valley coupling and However, the piezoelectric responses are mainly obtained within
Zeeman-type spin, the Rashba-type spin splitting (Figure 3b– the basal plane, ruling out the vertical operation mode.
d) can be observed around the Γ point in Janus TMD monolayers. Strikingly, Shenoy et al. unveiled the OOP piezoelectricity in
The IP spin rotation pattern shown in Figure 3b confirms the Janus TMD structures (Figure 3e). The piezoelectric effect in
Rashba-type spin polarization. The Rashba parameter αR is Janus MXY can be described by eil and dil tensors:
sensitive to the SOC strength. Therefore, the splitting magni-
tudes depend on their constituent elements. For example, t 0 1
e11
e11 ⋅ ⋅ e15 ⋅
he calculated αKR values for MoSSe and WSSe are 77 and B C
158 meV, respectively. This can be understood by the larger eil ¼ @ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ e15 ⋅
0.5e11 A (1)
SOC of W atom than Mo. Moreover, the Rashba effect e31 e31 e33 ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
could be controlled by external strain, EF, and charge
doping.[30,34–36] For instance, in WSeTe, it is observed that a 0 1
d11
d11 ⋅ ⋅ d15 ⋅
small strain (
2%
2%) can substantially change the Rashba B C
SOC (
50%
50%) by modulating the W–Se interaction. The dil ¼ @ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ d15 ⋅
2d11 A (2)
orbital selective external potential method further revealed that d31 d31 d33 ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
the change of W-dz2 and Se-pz orbital overlap played a key role
in controlling the Rashba SOC.[30] The high values of e31/d31 in Janus TMD monolayers indicate
the remarkable vertical piezoelectric effect. Even though the ver-
2.2.2. Vertical Piezoelectricity tical piezoelectric polarizations are much weaker than that of the
IP piezoelectricity for monolayers, as indicated by the values of
Large vertical piezoelectric polarization is another remarkable e33/d33, they can be dramatically enhanced in multilayers due to
feature of Janus TMDs. It is known that 2D piezoelectric materi- the vertical strain.[39] As revealed by the theoretical results, the
als can offer applications in energy harvesting, actuator, sensors, enhancement of vertical piezoelectricity could also be realized
and medical industries.[37,38] For instance, the experimental by interlayer sliding in Janus TMD bilayers. The strong vertical

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piezoelectricity in Janus TMD structures will greatly expand the
application's scope.[40]
2.2.3. Photovoltaic Properties
In the Janus TMD monolayer, the built-in vertical EF due to the
asymmetry can weaken the excitons’ binding strength. The
strong Coulomb screening and reduced wave function overlap
between the e–h caused by the EF will significantly reduce the
recombination process and prolong the exciton lifetime. By
time-domain density functional theory (DFT) calculations, Jin
predicted that the exciton lifetime in Janus-MoSTe monolayer
can be up to 1.31 ns.[41] Up to date, some appealing features
of Janus TMDs as predicted from theoretical simulations have
been verified in experiments. For instance, transient absorption
results showed that the excitons are 30% faster than those in
conventional TMDs. In addition, the radiative recombination
lifetime of excitons is dramatically longer than their pristine
counterparts. The results are originated from the built-in dipole
moment, which can enhance electron–phonon interactions and
separate the electron and hole wave functions (Figure 3f ). These
features are beneficial for efficiency improvement and charge
collection.[42]
2.3. Promising Applications of Janus TMD Monolayers
2.3.1. Sensors
Due to the intrinsic dipole, which can either enhance or weaken
the gas adsorption depending on the polarization direction,
Janus TMDs exhibit unique potential in sensors. For example,
Jin et al. proposed MoSSe as an ideal material for gas sensing
by first-principles calculations.[43] After examining the adsorption
performance of the typical gas molecules, including NH3, NO,
NO2, CO, and CO2, on Janus MoSSe monolayer, they found that
N-based gases and C-based gases prefer to adopt chemisorption
and physisorption, respectively (Figure 4a). Compared to S-layer,
the binding strengths of these molecules are much stronger on
Se-layer. The adsorption behavior can be effectively controlled by
tensile strain due to the distinct change of the intrinsic electro-
static potential difference between the S and Se surfaces.
Moreover, other works found that the OOP polarization in
MoSSe makes it a universal substrate for biomolecule (such
as glucose and dopamine) and food adulterant (such as hista-
mine, formalin, and hydrogen peroxide) detecting.[44,45] These
appealing advantages pave the way for the application of sensing
and detecting techniques.

Figure 4. a) The adsorption distance and charge transfer of different gas molecules on Janus MoSSe and MoS2 monolayers. Adapted with permission.[43]
Copyright 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry. b) HER volcano including WSSe. c) Schematic illustration of band alignment and crystal field of 2H-TMD
and Janus TMD. Reproduced with permission.[50] Copyright 2018, American Chemical Society. d) Spatial distribution of CBM and VBM in WSSe mono-
layer. Reproduced with permission.[54] Copyright 2020, American Chemical Society.

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2.3.2. Applications in Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
TMDs have been regarded as promising low-cost catalysts. The
overall catalytic performance of TMDs is deeply influenced by the
edge sites. Most attempts were focused on maximizing edge sites
or activating the basal plane, which are quite challenging as they
are relying on the precise control of the edge sharp and atomic
structures.[46–48] For example, Li et al. proposed to activate the
basal layer of strained 2H-MoS2 with the S vacancies for hydro-
gen evolution. However, precisely controlling either S vacancy
concentration or strain remains a significant challenge in the
experiment.[49] In this respect, Janus TMDs can provide a unique
solution to achieve high catalytic performance. By computation-
ally screening a series of Janus TMDs, Shenoy and coworkers
found that WSSe monolayer can be a possible catalyst for the
hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) without external strain.
The HER catalytic performance could be further improved by
the presence of chalcogen vacancies (Figure 4b). The enhanced
catalytic performance can be interpreted for the following rea-
sons. First, the intrinsic lattice strain and inside EF due to the
Janus asymmetry can change the crystal field and band structure.
The energy of certain orbitals is affected by the Jahn–Teller dis-
tortion and pushed closer to the Fermi level (Figure 4c). Second,
the chalcogen vacancies can be introduced in gap states near the
Fermi level. These new freed-up bands enable stable H adso
rption, which significantly improves the interaction between
H and Janus monolayer and activates the basal plane.[50] From
a high-through screening of different metal atoms deposited
on defective MoSSe monolayer, Deng predicted the excellent
HER performance in single Cd, Co, or Zn atom anchored on
defective MoSSe.[51] Defective or non-metal atom (such as B
atom) doped Janus TMDs also show superior performance for
HER due to the presence of OOP polarizations.[52,53]
2.3.3. Photocatalytic Water Splitting
Photocatalysts with a wide-spectrum solar response and high e–h
separation efficiency are highly desirable for water splitting.
Janus TMDs are envisaged to be a potential candidate owing
to the intrinsic EF, which is beneficial for photogenerated e–h
separation. By systematically examining the optical absorption,
e–h separation, photoexcited carrier migration, and surface redox
reactions with DFT calculations, Ju et al. confirmed that Janus
WSSe exhibits excellent performance for overall water split-
ting.[54] The bandgap of WSSe monolayer (2.13 eV from
HSE06 calculations) well meets the requirement for water split-
ting, and has the optical absorbance within the visible-light spec-
trum. Especially, in this Janus structure, the conduction band
minimum (CBM) and valence band maximum (VBM) are mainly
located at the Se side and the S site, respectively (Figure 4d). The
spatial separation can suppress the recombination of photoex-
cited carriers and separate the generated O2 and H2. Due to
the benefit of internal EF, the exciton binding energy of
WSSe monolayer is smaller than its conventional counterparts
(WS2 and WSe2), while the carrier mobility is higher, facilitating
carrier separation and transfer. Furthermore, the external strain
can greatly improve the catalytic performance by controlling the
intrinsic dipole. For example, the uniaxial strain could broaden
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the absorption to the near-infrared region. It can also lower the
binding energy of exciton and tune the adsorption energy of H2O
molecules. The potential for photocatalytic water splitting was
also theoretically confirmed in Janus MoSSe.[55,56]
3. 2D Janus TMDs vdW Structures
In conventional TMDs, a direct to indirect bandgap transition
will emerge when the thickness increases due to the interlayer
orbital hybridization between the chalcogen atoms and metal
atoms. Indeed, the interlayer interactions in vdWs structures play
vital roles in determining the electronic, optical properties.[57] In
analogy to pristine TMD vdW structures, the interlayer coupling
also has a great influence on Janus TMD vdW structures.
However, the built-in EF of Janus TMDs provides an additional
degree of freedom to tune the interlayer coupling between neigh-
boring 2D layers, leading to new physics and applications in
Janus TMD vdW structures.[58–60]
3.1. Interlayer Coupling in Janus TMD vdW Structures
It is known that vdW bilayers exhibit versatile properties and pro-
vide new possibilities for electronics and optoelectronics.
However, the short e–h recombination lifetime as a result of
strong interlayer overlapping greatly hinders their applications.
In this respect, the Janus-MoSSe bilayer shows a unique advan-
tage. The built-in EF in Janus bilayer MoSSe can effectively
separate the centers of the wave function, thus suppressing
the strong interlayer coupling (Figure 5a). In this context, the
e–h recombination time can be significantly extended. By using
the nonadiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) technique, it was
estimated that the lifetime for Janus bilayer can reach up to
16.5 ns.[61] It is also found that the carrier recombination in
Janus-MoSSe bilayer is significantly affected by stacking orienta-
tions. Compared to S-Se/S-Se oriented MoSSe bilayers, the oppo-
site dipoles in Se-S/S-Se and S-Se/Se-S oriented bilayers will
significantly suppress the charge recombination due to the
weaker interlayer interactions.[62] The interlayer coupling tuned
piezoelectricity of Janus multilayers is another shining example.
The theoretical studies show that the vertical lattice constant and
stacking sequences have a significant influence on the piezoelec-
tric coefficient e33. The dipole–dipole interaction in vdW struc-
tures may change the charge distribution of adjacent layers,
thus modulating the piezoelectric effect.
The interlayer coupling in Janus heterobilayers is also an inter-
esting research topic. For instance, Janus MoSSe/MoS2 vdW was
synthesized from a few-layer MoS2 recently. As revealed by the
low-frequency Raman spectroscopy, in MoSSe/MoS2 hetero-
structure, the interlayer coupling is greatly enhanced (up to
13.2%) as compared to MoS2 bilayer. This phenomenon can
be interpreted from the intrinsic dipole and compressive strain
effect. On the one hand, the intrinsic dipole moment will induce
the charge redistribution, resulting in reduced interlayer distance
and extra dipole–Coulombic interactions. On the other hand, the
lattice mismatch between two layers would make MoSSe under a
compressive strain condition, which also contributes to the
enhanced interlayer coupling (Figure 5b).[63]
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Figure 5. a) Schematic illustration of the wave-function overlaps of bilayer MoS2 and bilayer Janus MoSSe. Reproduced with permission.[61] Copyright
2019, American Physical Society. b) Illustration of built-in strain and dipole in MoSSe/MoS2 heterostruture. Reproduced with permission.[63] Copyright
2020, American Chemical Society. c) Raman spectra of MoSSe/MoS2 heterostructure related with different angles. Reproduced with permission.[67]
Copyright 2021, American Chemical Society. d) Side view of graphene/trilayer MoSSe/graphene heterostructures and corresponding projected band
structure. Reproduced with permission.[68] Copyright 2018, American Chemical Society. e) Variation of the Rashba coefficient in different stacking
as the interlayer distance modifies. Reproduced with permission.[60] Copyright 2019, American Chemical Society.

Inspired by the great achievements in twisted TMD heterobi-
layers[64,65]and magic-angle graphene,[66] recently much attention
has been devoted to manipulating interlayer coupling by twisting
the angles between crystal axes. After carefully investigating the
effects of twist angle and intrinsic dipole moment in Janus
MoSSe/MoS2 heterobilayers, Huang et al. have confirmed the
ability of the Janus structure to tune the interlayer coupling
and interfacial charge transfer by changing the interface compo-
sition and twist angle (Figure 5c).[67]
3.2. Potential Applications of 2D Janus TMD vdW Structures
Stacking Janus TMD layers serves as a strategy to obtain ultrathin
pn-junctions due to the Janus dipole effect, which presents an
opportunity for solar energy harvesting devices. To construct a
device, metallic leads are crucial. However, bulk metal would
lead to a complete screen of built-in dipole and destroy the
pn-junction. Using first-principles calculations, Brandbyge
et al. show that the dipole effect is preserved in the stacked
Janus-graphene system, and hereby provides a promising
method to abrupt pn-junctions (Figure 5d), which has required
harsh conditions previously. In addition, the upper and bottom
graphene are strongly n- and p-doped, respectively. It indicates
that the Janus dipole effect could also be employed as a nonin-
trusive way for graphene doping.[68]
The excellent properties of Janus TMD vdW structures high-
light the potential applications in electronics, optoelectronics,
and photocatalysts.[69] As the Rashba strength is dominated
by the vertical EF applying on the metal atoms, it is reasonable
to expect that the OOP orbital overlap between interfacial X and
Y atoms will affect the Rashba effects. Indeed, theoretical sim-
ulations confirm that the Rashba effect is influenced by stacking
orders and interlayer distance. Take the AA-stacked MoSSe
bilayer for instance. In contrast to MoSSe monolayer, the
Rashba effect of bilayer vanishes in the range of 3.2
3.7 Å.
As the distance further decreases, the Rashba effect appears
again (Figure 5e). This phenomenon can be interpreted by
the competition between the interlayer and intralayer EF, which
influences the net vertical dipole moment on Mo atoms.[60]
Additionally, different stacking configurations in Janus TMD
multilayers also have an influence on bandgap, dipole moment,
and carrier mobility.[70] Wang et al. theoretically predicted that
MoSSe/WSeTe heterostructure can be a direct Z-scheme photo-
catalytic candidate for HER.[71] DFT calculations indicate that
due to the electrostatic potential difference in Janus structure,
built-in EF would occur at the MoSSe/WSeTe interface, which
would suppress charge recombination and facilitate e–h separa-
tion. The NAMD indicates that photogenerated carrier transfer
may behave as type-II or Z-scheme path by different stacking.
However, surface chalcogen vacancies can switch type-II path to
Z-scheme path effectively. More interestingly, the appearance of
these defect trap states will increase the time difference between
carrier transfer and recombination, making MoSSe/WSeTe
vdW structure a highly promising direct Z-scheme photocata-
lyst. As for MoSSe/WSe2, this heterostructure exhibits not only
ultrafast charge separation but also high photoresponsivity in
wide ranges of the spectrum. These appealing features make
it promising in optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications.[72]

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4. Conclusions and Prospects
As one of the most promising 2D candidates, TMDs have received
notable attention due to the unique combination of structural sta-
bility, direct bandgap, strong SOC, and excellent mechanical and
electric properties. The emerging Janus TMDs not only inherit
the advantages of conventional TMDs but also unlock some
fascinating phenomena such as the Rashba effect and vertical pie-
zoelectricity due to the OOP symmetry breaking. In addition, the
intrinsic EF that stems from the electronegativity difference of top
and bottom chalcogen atoms can be regarded an ideal way to tune
the interlayer interactions when forming Janus vdW structures,
which opens new opportunities for applications. Furthermore,
the interlayer coupling is also sensitive to the stacking configura-
tions, interlayer distances, or twisting angles, which provide an
additional way to control the properties. In this regard, we sum-
marize some of the key theoretical and experimental results of 2D
Janus TMD monolayers and present potential utilizations in
sensors, HER, and photocatalytic water splitting. The exciting
properties of 2D Janus vdW structures have also been summa-
rized, which hold potentials for varieties of applications in nano-
electromechanics, (opto-) electronics, and catalysis.
Despite the great potential in wide ranges of areas, large-scale
applications of Janus TMDs remain a problem. To date, the exper-
imental studies of 2D Janus materials are still rare, mainly because
of the difficulties in Janus layer synthesis as well as limited
material quality. Janus layers need to be synthesized with extreme
precision. Therefore most studies are based on theoretical
simulations. Up to now, only a few kinds of Janus TMD mono-
layers (MoSSe, WSSe) have been fabricated. Therefore, many
novel properties predicted in theory have not been confirmed in
experiments. Thus, it is highly expected that more high-quality
2D Janus TMDs can be synthesized by optimizing existing condi-
tions or designing new strategies. In practical applications, stability
is a fundamental and important factor. Hence, deeper investiga-
tion of the stability of 2D Janus TMDs under different conditions
is needed. In addition, as we mentioned, the internal dipole
moment in Janus TMDs can act as an efficient way to tune the
interlayer coupling and broaden their applications. The full poten-
tial still awaits further exploration. To sum up, although a number
of problems have not been settled, current progress will set impor-
tant milestones for more exciting discoveries and applications.
Acknowledgements
Open access publishing facilitated by Queensland University of
Technology, as part of the Wiley–Queensland University of Technology
agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
[Correction added on March 31, 2022, after first online publication:
CAUL funding statement has been added.]
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Keywords
built-in dipole moment, Janus transition metal dichalcogenides, out-of-
plane asymmetry
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Received: November 3, 2021
Revised: December 31, 2021
Published online: January 27, 2022
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Xiao Tang received a Ph.D. from the Queensland University of Technology under the supervision of Prof.
Kou. She joined Nanjing Forestry University in 2021. Her current research focuses on theoretical
explorations of 2D materials with novel electronic and magnetic properties.

Liangzhi Kou received a Ph.D. in 2011 from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He
was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Bremen Center of Computational Materials Sciences
(BCCMS) in Germany during 2012–2014, a research associate at UNSW Australia in 2014, and an ARC
DECRA fellow during 2015–2018. He is currently an associate professor at the Queensland University of
Technology. His research mainly focuses on computational discovery and design of novel 2D materials
for energy applications and 2D topological insulators.

Phys. Status Solidi B 2022, 259, 2100562 2100562 (8 of 8) © 2022 The Authors. physica status solidi (b) basic solid state physics
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