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DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08071C
ARTICLE
Published on 07 December 2020. Downloaded by Auckland University of Technology on 12/15/2020 10:09:27 AM.
Large-area synthesis of transition metal dichalcogenides via CVD

and solution-based approaches and their device applications
iReceived 00th January 20xx, Anh Tuan Hoang,a＃ Kairui Qu,b＃ Xiang Chenb* and Jong-Hyun Ahna*
Nanoscale Accepted Manuscript

Accepted 00th January 20xx
For the last decade, two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have attracted considerable attention due
DOI: 10.1039/x0xx00000x to their unique physical and chemical properties. The novel devices based on these materials are commonly fabricated using
the exfoliated samples, which lacks control in the thickness and cannot be scaled. Therefore, it is required for the synthesis
of large-area TMDCs thin films with a high uniform to advance the field. This article reviews the latest advances in the
synthesis of wafer-scale thin films using chemical vapor deposition methods. The key factors that determine the electrical
performance of TMDCs are introduced, including the interfacial properties and defects. The latest solution-based techniques
also suggest the opportunity to obtain large-area TMDCs thin films with a low-cost process. The potential applications in
electronic and optoelectronic are presented, and an additional review of one-dimensional TMDCs nanowires is
demonstrated. The outlook for future research directions, challenges, and possible development for 2D materials are further
discussed.
method that can result in very high-quality devices but cannot

Introduction generate continuous or scalable films needed for industrial
applications. Therefore, to transform devices based on 2D
The discovery of graphene has created huge interest from
TMDCs from laboratory research to industrial applications, it is
researchers over the world. For the decades, the family of two-
necessary to develop a scalable synthesis method to achieve
dimensional (2D) materials. Over the past decade, the family of
high-quality, wafer-scale 2D TMDCs.
2D material has expanded to include hundreds of members,
In this review, we first summarize the latest advances in the
many of which have been successfully synthesized, such as
synthesis of wafer-scale continuous TMDC films by various
black phosphorus (BP),1-3 transition metal dichalcogenides
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods,22-25 including
(TMDCs), and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN).4 Although
atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD), low-
graphene possesses many excellent properties (chemical,
pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), plasma-enhanced
mechanical and electronic properties),5-9 the zero bandgap10
chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), metal-organic chemical
limits its application in semiconductor devices. Compared to
vapor deposition (MOCVD), and summarize both advantages
graphene, 2D TMDCs exhibit diverse properties from metals
and disadvantages of these methods. We also attempt to
(e.g., NbTe2, TaS2), semimetals (e.g., TiSe2, WTe2),
provide a reference for the realization of industrial-scale
superconductors (e.g., NbS2, PdTe2), to semiconductors with
applications using TMDCs. Moreover, we summarize the recent
bandgaps ranging from 0.5 to 3 eV (e.g., MoSe2, HfS2).11 These
advances in the solution-based preparation of TMDCs as
promising materials can be applied in various photonic and
effective protocols to realize large-scale thin films and low-cost
optoelectronic devices, such as light-emitting devices,
production. In comparison with the CVD methods, the solution-
transistors, and photovoltaic devices.12-14
based synthesis methods possess several advantages. First, it
Similar to graphene, mechanical exfoliation can be used to
provides a low-temperature synthesis under ambient
prepare 2D TMDCs.15-18 Mechanical peeling can produce high-
conditions. Note that several TMDCs are very challenging to
quality few-layers 2D nanosheets, which is suitable for lab-scale
synthesize by CVD methods, but it can be fabricated readily by
research. Most prototype devices are fabricated based on this
the solution-based process. Second, various types of substrates
simple and low-cost method,19-21 the mechanical exfoliation
can be adopted with the synthesis process through solution-
phase deposition, including polymer substrates. Finally, the
a. School
of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, solution-based synthetic routes provide the ability to control
Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea. the compositions, geometries, and heterostructures that
b. Institute
of Optoelectronics & Nanomaterials, MIIT Key Laboratory of Advanced
Display Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering,
facilitate desired applications.
Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China.
＃Equal Contribution
*Corresponding authors: xiangchen@njust.edu.cn and ahnj@yonsei.ac.kr
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 20xx J. Name., 2013, 00, 1-3 | 1
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ARTICLE Journal Name
Large-scale synthesis of TMDCs by CVD methods on a substrate to form a precursor/promoter layer, and Online
View Article then
performed APCVD synthesis. DuringDOI: the reaction, the
10.1039/D0NR08071C
Many pieces of research have been devoted to the
intermediate compound such as Na2MoO4 clusters was formed
development of new methods for large-scale synthesis of
and embedded on the substrate surface. The proposed
TMDCs films. CVD is considered to be the most likely synthesis
mechanism of the cluster formation is shown in Fig. 1d. Oxygen
method for realizing high-quality large-area 2D TMDCs at a low
reacted with the carbon and hydrogen components in the
cost. This section will introduce the above CVD methods,
precursor. Na, Mo, and O sources aggregated at high
analyze the large-scale synthesis mechanism, and add several
temperature to form Na2MoO4 and then reacted further with
applications related to 2D TMDCs.
SiO2 to generate a thermodynamically stable Na-Mo-Si-O
compound. The compound can enhance the wettability of the

APCVD
precursor to the substrate, have a pinning effect on the MoS2
APCVD refers to a method of chemical vapor deposition film, and improve the uniformity of the film.
performed at atmospheric pressure. It is the earliest used CVD
method, with simple structure and easy operation, and can be
carried out in several reactors with different shapes. Metal

oxides or volatile metal halides are sublimated at high
temperatures, mixed with chalcogenide vapor carried by carrier
gases such as H2, Ar, or N2, and evenly transported to the high-
temperature substrate in the reaction chamber to form an
ultrathin TMDC film on the substrate.
At present, large-area TMDC crystals and films have been
fabricated by the APCVD method. Using molybdenum oxide and
selenium powders as the precursors of molybdenum and
selenium, Gong et al. succeeded in synthesizing a continuous
millimeter-scale MoSe2 film on SiO2 substrate (Fig. 1a). MoSe2
single-crystal domain reaches 1.3 mm.26 Chen et al. introduced
a contrast group in APCVD to prove that molted glass can
promote the growth of MoSe2 single crystal.27 MoSe2 thin film
grown in the same system, the MoSe2 single crystal obtained on
the molten substrate (Fig. 1b left) is larger than that on the SiO2
substrate (Fig. 1b right).
Many factors affect the APCVD synthesis of two-dimensional
TMDCs, such as precursors, accelerators, substrates, surface
treatments, and so on.28 While MoTe2 was synthesized on a SiO2
substrate, the side reaction of Te and Si produced SiTe and
Si2Te3, resulting in the inability to obtain MoTe2. Zhou et al.
introduced molecular sieves into the CVD system to absorb the
silicon telluride byproducts. Thus, MoTe2 can be successfully
Fig. 1 a) Optical image of millimeter-scale TMDC crystal synthesized by APCVD.
synthesized.29 By placing the substrates on top of each other Reproduced from ref. 26 with permission from the Wiley-VCH, Copyright 2016. b) Optical
(Fig. 1c left), the 1T' phase and 2H phase of large-scale images of MoSe2 millimeter-scale crystals grown on different substrates (left: molten
continuous MoTe2 were obtained on the same SiO2 substrate glass, right: SiO2). Scale bar 500μm. Reproduced from ref. 27 with permission from the
simultaneously (Fig. 1c right). MoTe2 film was synthesized in American Chemical Society, Copyright 2017. c) Schematic diagram of MoTe2 synthesis by
adding molecular sieve to APCVD and Optical images of different regions of MoS2
Region 4 and Region 5 after the introduction of the molecular
synthesized with/without molecular sieve under the same conditions. Reproduced from
sieve. In contrast, MoTe2 film could not be obtained in Region ref. 29 with permission from the WILEY-VCH, Copyright 2016. d) Sodium metal oxide
1, 2, 3 without the molecular sieve. Besides, in the region where formation mechanism diagram. Reproduced from ref. 29 with permission from the IOP
the substrate is placed overlapping, the 2H phase of MoTe2 is Publishing Ltd, Copyright 2017. e) Synthesis of large-area continuous MoS2 thin film by
spin coating precursor and APCVD (left); Optical photograph of the continuous film in the
obtained. In the opened area, it will get the 1T' phase of
center area (middle); Optical photograph of the domain (right). Reproduced from ref. 31
MoTe2.This study proves that the substrate plays a very with permission from the WILEY-VCH, Copyright 2017. f) Phase transition image of
important role in the synthesis of TMDC. The substrate has a MoTe2 thin film during synthesis (left); Raman mapping image MoTe2 thin film (middle);
modulating effect on the phase of the synthesized TMDC Schematic diagrams of the phase transformation from 1T ′ - to 2H-MoTe2 film (right).
monolayer. The substrate can be treated differently to obtain Reproduced from ref. 32 with permission from the American Chemical Society, Copyright
2019. g) Schematic diagram of the process of growing single-crystal MoS2 on Au (111).
the required TMDC phase.
Reproduced from ref. 33 with permission from the American Chemical Society, Copyright
Moreover, the promoter has been extensively used recently. 2020.
Kim et al. investigated the role of alkali metal promoter in
growing monolayer TMDCs and explained the mechanism.30
Furthermore, the precursor supply methods are also essential,
The authors formulated alkali metal promoter and water-
and Lee et al. developed a new precursor supply method.31 A
soluble transition metal precursor into a solution, spin-coated it
very small amount of MoO3 powder was dissolved in
2 | J. Name., 2012, 00, 1-3 This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 20xx

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Journal Name ARTICLE
ammonium hydroxide, and the solution was spin-coated on a al. presented a continuous monolayer MoS2 film synthesized on
View Article Online
SiO2 substrate (Fig. 1e). Thus, a precursor film is formed with a 2-inch sapphire wafer using MoO3 DOI: and 10.1039/D0NR08071C
S powder.34 The
uniform film thickness. After APCVD growth, a highly crystalline authors have modified the system by using separate carrier gas
millimeter-scale MoS2 film is obtained. The obtained MoS2 film paths to transport each precursor, i.e., Ar as the carrier gas for
presents a high quality with excellent optical performance. the S and Ar/O2 as the carrier gas for MoO3 (Fig. 2a). By adding
In addition, Xu et al. found that Mo and Te would rearrange oxygen, MoO3 can be prevented from sulfurization for steady
under appropriate conditions, and the MoTe2 film changes from evaporation to improve growth quality.
polycrystalline 1T' phase to single-crystal 2H phase.32 The
authors synthesized a centimeter-scale seamless 1T'-2H
coplanar heterostructure (Fig. 1f). A 1-1.5 nm thick Mo film was

firstly deposited on Si/SiO2 substrate by magnetron sputtering,
following by the tellurization process in the APCVD system to
obtain MoTe2. As the growth time increases, the MoTe2 film
gradually transforms from 1T 'phase to 2H phase. 2H-MoTe2
continuously expands and combines each other from a circle,

and finally forms a uniform 2H-MoTe2 film. This study provided
a solution for the precise control of the phase of TMDCs.
The latest research shows that the size of the monolayer TMDC
domain has expanded to hundreds of microns or even
millimeters. Despite these achievements, the main
disadvantage of this growth process by vapor transport is that
it is extremely difficult to introduce only single nucleation, and
the resulting crystal domain size is still too small to be
compatible with highly integrated devices. In contrast, the
multi-nucleation method relies on a lattice-matched substrate,
which enables epitaxial TMDC domains to grow in the same
orientation and then to combine into single-crystal films.
Therefore, controlling the orientation of crystal domains and
suppressing the formation of grain boundaries are key issues for
the growth of TMDC single crystals. In view of this, Yang et al.
reported that by melting and resolidifying commercial Au foils,
the epitaxial growth of wafer-level monocrystalline MoS2 Fig. 2 a) Schematic of LPCVD synthesis of independently transported precursors.
Reproduced from ref. 34 with permission from the American Chemical Society, Copyright
monolayers was achieved on the neighboring Au (111) film (Fig.
2017. b) Typical setup for the direct sulfurization of the pre-deposited Mo film.
1g).33 The unidirectional alignment and seamless splicing of Reproduced from ref. 35 with permission from the WILEY-VCH, Copyright 2014. c)
MoS2 domains have been fully demonstrated using Optical image of a large-area continuous MoS2 film (left); Schematic diagram of
characterization techniques from the atomic level to the synthesizing large-area continuous MoS2 film by supplying precursors face to face (right).
Reproduced from ref. 38 with permission from the Springer Nature Publishing AG,
centimeter level. Through the combination of scanning
Copyright 2018. d) Schematic diagram of an improved multi-source CVD equipment (left);
tunneling microscope characterization and first-principles Photograph of a 4-inch uniform monolayer MoS2 film (right). Reproduced from ref. 39
calculations, the results show that the nucleation of the MoS2 with permission from the American Chemical Society, Copyright 2020.
monolayer is mainly guided by the Au (111) upper step, which
leads to the growth of MoS2 along with the <110> step edge Fig. 2b presents a typical direct sulfurization process of
height orientation. Therefore, this work is an important step transition metal film.35 Mo film with a thickness of several
towards the practical application of MoS2 monolayer and the nanometers was first deposited on a targeted substrate by
large-scale integration of 2D electronic devices. evaporation, following by the sulfurization in an LPCVD system
to obtain MoS2 film. Recent research led by Lee and Jung utilized
LPCVD a similar method to get large-scale continuous MoS2 films with
The principle of LPCVD is similar to APCVD, and the most the controllable thickness from mono- to tri-layer by directly
significant difference is the pressure parameter during the sulfurizing MoO3 films.36 The authors first performed Mo
deposition process. LPCVD has a higher step coverage, better magnetron sputtering in an atmosphere of Ar and O2 to obtain
film thickness uniformity, fewer structural defects, and lower a MoO3 thin film on a SiO2/Si substrate. The substrate was then
nucleation density than APCVD, but the growth parameters placed in the downstream zone of a CVD furnace and heated to
have become more complex, and the deposition rate slower 650 °C for 1 hour under an atmosphere of sulfur.
than APCVD. By controlling the thickness of transition metal or metal oxide
The deposition rate of LPCVD is low. This is due to the slow film, the different types of TMDC films can be synthesized using
transport of the source under low pressure, and the powder the sulfurization or selenization process. However, the quality
source is easily sulfurized before reaching the substrate. Yu et of the obtained films is poor, and their electrical properties still

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inferior to that of films synthesized by the conventional CVD Ahn et al. used PECVD to directly synthesize large-scale
View ArticleMoS
Online2
method. Xu et al. optimized the direct sulfurization method, and films on plastic substrates (Fig. 3a).40 The
DOI: authors first used
10.1039/D0NR08071C
the performance of the prepared film exceeded all the two- electron beam evaporation to deposit a 1 nm thick Mo film on
step-grown monolayer MoS2 reported previously.37 The authors the polyimide (PI) substrate, following by loading the PI
first deposited a thin MoO2 epitaxial thin film on the sapphire substrate in the PECVD system. The synthesis was performed
substrate by the pulse laser deposition process. Then the under a low pressure of 10-5 Torr. Argon glow discharge
sapphire substrate was placed in a three-zone CVD furnace for generates plasma, which decomposes H2S to produce active S
sulfurization. The device performance of the synthesized film is precursor, and the reaction temperature was at a range of 150-
better than that obtained by other sulfurization processes 300 °C. Finally, few-layer MoS2 films were obtained, with a
The source supply method and the choice of the substrate have thickness of ~4 nm. The synthesis mechanism is as follows: (1)
a great influence on film synthesis and film quality. Yang et al. ionization of argon, which generates charge transfer, resulting
developed a new technique to obtain a 6-inch continuous in the formation of H2S ions; (2) H2S ions bombarded and
uniform monolayer MoS2 film by face-to-face precursor supply injected into the Mo layer by the electric field; (3) H2S ions
inversion (Fig. 2c left).38 The Mo foil and S powder were used as sulfurize Mo film to form a MoS2 film, H2 produced as a
the precursors. Mo foil was folded into a bridge shape and byproduct. CVD methods usually require very high

placed face to face on soda-lime glass (Fig. 2c right). The growth temperatures (>600 °C), making it impossible to synthesize
was performed in an atmosphere of Ar and O2 at a growth TMDC films directly on flexible plastic substrates. This research
temperature of 720 °C. Soda-lime glass is hydrophilic. The film is expected to be used in the industry since it suggests a way to
obtained by this method can be easily peeled and transferred avoid the transfer step and preserves the quality of the TMDC
using polymethyl methacrylate and water. By increasing the size film.
of the growth chamber, a larger uniform monolayer MoS2 film
can be made on the soda-lime glass, which is suitable for
industrial production.
To obtain uniform and high-quality continuous monolayer MoS2
at the wafer-scale, in addition to the same orientation growth
of domains, it is also necessary to maintain a uniform
distribution of source concentration during the growth process.
However, most of the sources selected for APCVD and LPCVD
are powder source, the concentration of the source is largely
uneven in space. Recently, through an improved LPCVD system,
Wang et al. used a multi-source supply method to obtain a four-
inch wafer with high coverage MoS2 film (Fig. 2d), and the
average size of MoS2 domains exceeded 100 microns.39 These
monolayer MoS2 exhibited the best electronic performance
since the report, the average carrier mobility reached 70 cm2V-
1s-1, and the on/off current ratio reached 2 × 1010, which proves
the superiority of the LPCVD system of the multi-source supply

mode in the synthesis process.
PECVD
PECVD is a plasma-assisted CVD method. First, the in-situ
treatment of the substrate surface is needed before epitaxial
growth. Then, the substrate is placed in a plasma generated by
a low-pressure glow discharge for epitaxial growth. Compared
to CVD, PECVD exhibits many advantages: (1) The plasma
generated by glow discharge can remove impurities by
sputtering the surface of the substrate and perform in-situ
cleaning treatment; (2) The energy generated by ion Fig. 3 a) Schematic of synthesis of MoS2 thin film by PECVD: (1) Mo layer is obtained on
bombardment of the surface of the substrate improves the the polyimide substrate by electron beam evaporation; (2) H2S ions are generated by
mobility of surface atoms, thereby speeding up the reaction; (3) argon ionization and transmitted to Mo layer under the action of an electric field; (3) H2S
The reactive substances participating in the reaction are formed is sulfurizing Mo to form MoS2 and hydrogen. Reproduced from ref. 40 with permission
from the WILEY-VCH, Copyright 2015. b) Schematic diagram of hot-wall MOCVD
by high-energy plasma collision, so the temperature of the
equipment. Reproduced from ref. 41 with permission from the Springer Nature
substrate can be kept at a low temperature during the reaction. Publishing AG, Copyright 2015. c) Schematic diagram of the multi-step method for
PECVD has been widely used in industrial production for synthesizing high-quality uniform WS2 film. Reproduced from ref. 43 with permission
epitaxial Si related thin films. However, the related studies on from the American Chemical Society, Copyright 2018. d) Schematic of the growth
the synthesis of TMDC film using PECVD are limited so far. mechanism by pulsed MOCVD. Reproduced from ref. 45 with permission from the Wiley-
VCH, Copyright 2020. e) Schematic diagram of water-assisted large-area MoS2 film

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transfer process with DHF treated surface. Reproduced from ref. 46 with permission synthesized based on diethyl selenium and dimethyl selenium
View Article Online
from the Wiley-VCH, Copyright 2018.
is only 2 cm2V-1s-1. Besides, the purity of the
DOI:H10.1039/D0NR08071C
2Se source plays a
vital role in realizing the electronic-grade of synthesized film.
MOCVD The device consisting of WSe2 film presented a performance
MOCVD is the most commonly used technique for growing close to the one built on a single-crystal.
compound semiconductor thin films. MOCVD system consists of Moreover, Zhang et al. developed a multi-step MOCVD growth
a source supply system, gas transport, flow control system, process (Fig. 3c), obtained a WSe2 monolayer film with excellent
reaction chamber, exhaust gas treatment system, temperature uniformity under the optimal parameters.43 The flow rate of
control system, and automatic control system. The precursors H2Se remained constant (7 sccm) throughout the process. The
used in the MOCVD system are easy to volatilize and transport substrate was heated, and when the growth temperature was
in the gas phase, perform the epitaxy on the substrate in the reached, tungsten hexacarbonyl was introduced into the
manner of a thermal decomposition reaction. For the MOCVD, reaction chamber at a relatively high flow rate for 30 seconds.
the choice of precursors is crucial. The sources are usually A high-density WSex cluster appeared on the sapphire substrate.
selected based on the characteristics: it is stable at room After removing W(CO)6 from the inlet and annealing the sample
temperature and has an adequate vapor pressure at an in H2Se for 15 min, the density of WSex clusters decreased, and

appropriate temperature (0-20 °C); it must be decomposed to WSe2 domains with uniform size were formed. Hexacarbonyl
produce the required growth elements at the desired growth tungsten was then passed into the reaction chamber at a lower
temperatures; the unwanted side reactions can be avoided. flow rate to limiting nucleation and promoting lateral growth of
Since the MOCVD sources are flammable, explosive, and highly the crystal domains. The control of nucleation density and the
toxic materials, safety precautions of the MOCVD system are lateral growth rate is the major challenge to obtain fewer grain
required. Compared with CVD, MOCVD has the following boundaries and high uniform thin film, thus improve the quality
advantages: (1) MOCVD can precisely control the composition of TMDCs. This research gave an insight into the fundamental
and thickness of the epitaxial layer by accurately controlling the growth process, provided a method to minimize the growth of
gas flow rate; (2) The gas composition in the reaction chamber the film in three dimensions.
can be quickly changed, it is beneficial to epitaxial growth of Developing a fast and large-scale synthesis approach for
heterojunction and multiple-structures; (3) the precursor is uniform monolayer TMDCs is a significant challenge to realize
easy to volatilize and exists as a gas in the reaction chamber, the the industrial production of TMDCs and the application in
precursor is mixed more uniformly, and the quality of the grown electric fields. At present, MOCVD is the most promising
film is more uniform. The parameters required for MOCVD synthesis method to achieve this goal. Although MOCVD is slow
epitaxial growth are temperature, precursor flow, precursor and expensive, MOCVD has advantages that other CVDs do not
flow ratio, synthesis atmosphere, etc. have, such as better source uniformity and better source
Using the MOCVD system, Kang et al.41 obtained wafer-scale controllability. Although existing studies have shown that some
uniform MoS2 and WS2 monolayer and studied the device researchers have synthesized large-area TMDC monolayers
performance of the thin film (Fig. 3b). The authors selected through traditional CVD, but its domain size and electronic
molybdenum hexacarbonyl (MHC), tungsten hexacarbonyl properties show poor spatial uniformity. In addition, the
(THC), and dimethyl sulfide (DES) as the precursors of Mo, W, commonly used powder vaporization routes (such as MoO3 and
and S, respectively. The obtained film is continuous at the S powder in MoS2) require higher growth temperatures and are
wafer-scale by using long-time growth (~26 hours). The limited in the continuous supply of precursors during the
absorption spectrum and Raman spectrum confirm that the film growth process, making them unsuitable for integration into
has high quality and uniformity. With the increase of the H2 flow existing electronic manufacturing processes. In MOCVD, the
rate, the size of the crystal domains in the synthesized films decomposition temperature range of most metal precursors is
decreased significantly. For the same size thin films, fewer less than about 400°C, and the growth temperature of TMDC is
crystal domains mean more grain boundaries and too many low, which is beneficial to the future CMOS compatible
grain boundaries will dramatically affect the performance of the semiconductor industry. The research led by Eswaran proposed
film. To improve the film quality, the flow of H2 should be a solution to the problem of time.44 By using the liquid precursor
reduced as much as possible in the process of synthesizing the for Mo source (i.e., bis(tertbutylimido) bis(dimethylamido)
MoS2 film. molybdenum) and hydrogen sulfide gas, the authors
Carbon contamination is a primary concern of the MOCVD demonstrated 2-inch wafer MoS2 could be obtained within 4
system when using organometallic sources such as DES. Lin et min of growth time. This research paves the new way for the
al. used H2Se as a Se source to avoid this problem.42 They widespread industrial production of TMDC films. Seol et al. also
synthesized a large-area continuous WSe2 monolayer film by achieved the rapid synthesis of TMDC monolayer through
using H2Se as the selenium source to prevent the formation of pulsed intermittent supply source.45 The author used a high
amorphous carbon, thus improving the quality of the WSe2 film precursor partial pressure during the synthesis process, which
compared to the film synthesized by diethyl selenium. The makes the secondary nucleation on the TMDC film easier. To
author constructed bottom gate field-effect transistors based achieve rapid layer-by-layer growth, the author's strategy is to
on this WSe2 film, with a carrier mobility of 30 cm2V-1s-1 and an periodically interrupt the supply of precursors. Fig. 3d shows a
on/off current ratio of 107. The carrier mobility of WSe2 films schematic diagram of the growth of TMDs. In the initial growth

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stage, the surface coverage of TMDC is low, heterogeneous process, it is inevitable that the film will be damaged, and
View Article Online
nucleation occurs on the substrate, and vertical growth is rarely impurities will be introduced, which will cause the quality of the
DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08071C
observed. This is because the possibility of reaching metal and film to deteriorate, and ultimately affect the performance of the
chalcogen atoms on SiO2 is higher than the TMD nucleation device. Shinde et al. developed a new transfer method that
point. After reaching a certain coverage, the higher atom enables the complete transfer of wafer-scale films.46 Fig. 3e
density will drive the secondary nucleation on the TMDC surface. shows the synthesis and transfer process. They performed
The author interrupted the precursor supply two minutes after silanol functionalization on SiO2 substrates with dilute
introducing the precursor. The unstable MoSx (or WSx) clusters hydrofluoric acid and then performed MOCVD epitaxial growth
formed on the pre-synthesized TMDC could not reach the on the treated substrates. The film can be completely detached
critical nucleation size, and the adsorbed atoms were more from the substrate using water and transferred to the flexible
inclined to attach to the edge in terms of energy. In the substrate. The device fabricated from the transferred film
precursor interruption step, the remaining atoms and unstable exhibited excellent performance. This study shows that the
clusters below the critical nucleation size may move to the edge damage to the film caused by the transfer step can be
of the pre-synthesized TMDC through surface diffusion (vertical minimized.
Ostwald ripening). Repeated precursor injection and In summary, all CVD methods can synthesize large-area TMDC

interruption can inhibit vertical growth and drive layer-by-layer films, but the parameters of films prepared by different CVD
growth mode. Simulation and experimental results also methods have divergence, such as domain size, continuity, film
confirmed the correctness of this growth model. After four quality, layer quantity, etc. We summarize the similarities and
growth cycles, a TMDC monolayer with high coverage was differences of various CVD (Table 1) and analyze the impact of
obtained. However, the quality of the film synthesized by this these differences in the synthesis. 2D TMDC is expected to
method is average, the carrier mobility and switching are become the next generation of semiconductor materials. To
relatively poor, and the subsequent parameters need to be realize industrial applications, it is necessary to realize the
optimized. synthesis of high-quality TMDC single-crystal films or ultra-large
Besides, the substrates selected for the MOCVD method are domain films. Currently, the domain size of wafer-scale
generally SiO2, fused glass, and sapphire. None of these can continuous TMDC films is only a few hundred microns, and films
meet the substrates required to build flexible and transparent have more grain boundaries, which significantly reduces
devices. It is necessary to perform epitaxial growth through the performance, need to carefully optimize growth parameters
MOCVD method, and then transfer the film to a flexible and processes, or invent new synthetic systems.
substrate before making a flexible device. During the transfer

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DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08071C
Table 1 Performance comparison of TMDC films synthesized by various CVD methods
Growth Mobility ON/OFF

Method Material Domain size Substrate Ref.
temp. (°C) (cm2V-1s-1) current ratio
750 10-30 nm 0.04 - SiO2/Si 47
700 123 µm 1-8 105-107 SiO2/Si 48
760 10 µm - - SiO2/Si 49
750 10 µm 500 (@ 10K) 105 SiO2/Si 50
700 20 µm 17.3 4× 108 SiO2/Si 51
MoS2 850 10-20 µm 2-10 - SiO2/Si 52

850 305 µm 30 > 106 SiO2/Si 53
APCVD
850 Tens of µm 4.3 6 × 106 SiO2/Si 54
750 80 µm 3-15 106-108 Soda-lime glass 55
775 170 µm 2.5 103 Sapphire 56
600-800 1 mm 30 108 SiO2/Si 57
750 135 µm 50 106 SiO2/Si 58
MoSe2
1050 2.5 mm 95 107 Molten glass 59
WSe2 800 790 µm 143 9 × 106 Au foil 60
1050 - 4.3-8.7 - SiO2/Si 35
650 - 21 107 SiO2/Si 36
MoS2 850 - 3.6 106 SiO2/Si 61
LPCVD
1000 100 µm 70 2 × 1010 Sapphire 39
720 400 µm 6.3-11.4 105-106 Soda-lime glass 62
MoSe2 700-800 1.2 mm - - SiO2/Si 57
PECVD MoS2 150-300 - 3.7 - Polyimide 40
MoS2, WS2 550 0.1-10 µm 10-40 106 SiO2/Si 41
550 - 9 106 SiO2/Si 46
MOCVD
MoS2 950 Tens of µm 100 - Sapphire 63
900 - 4.9-9.4 107 SiO2/Si 45

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One of the key challenges in the CVD synthesis of TMDC single- based on MoS2 are made by mechanical DOI: stripping and complex
10.1039/D0NR08071C
crystal films is the delivery of transition metal (TM) precursor chemical doping, lacking repeatability and reliability, and are
and chalcogen precursor to the substrate surface in a controlled not suitable for large integrated circuits. Das et al. designed and
manner. In this process, it is necessary to ensure that the manufactured a large-area flexible hybrid logic device based on
precursor is sufficiently and uniformly transported to produce a wafer-level MoS2 thin-film synthesis by CVD (Fig. 4a).64 The
uniformly distributed flux of stable reactants above the authors used Si as a p-type material and MoS2 as an n-type
substrate. Carrier gas assisted delivery organic source strategy material to form a complementary heterostructure inverter. Si-
may be a high-quality solution strategy. The precursor used in TFT was produced through top-down technology and then
MOCVD has a high vapor pressure, which can form a stable combined with CVD-grown MoS2 thin film by transfer method.
vapor flux during the carrier gas assisted delivery process to The maximum voltage gain of the inverter reaches 16 (Fig. 4b),
ensure uniform delivery of the precursor. This strategy can and the total noise margin is higher. Besides, the authors have
accurately control the delivery of precursors by controlling the constructed a flexible inverter on a plastic substrate. This
flow of carrier gas, and can precisely control the number of research is expected to be put into large-scale industrial
TMDC layers, but this strategy introduces more parameters that production.

need to be controlled. In addition, the CVD synthesis method
will introduce more impurities, leading to structural defects,
wrinkles and contaminants. This is also an urgent problem to be
solved. The second key challenge is nucleation control. If
effective control methods are not used, the initial nuclei are
often randomly distributed and oriented, resulting in the
formation of a large number of grain boundaries during the
merger between these regions. Suppression of nucleation is an
effective way to reduce grain boundaries. By introducing
hydroxylation, alkali metal halide, oxygen, or separating the
induction phase from the growth phase, inhibition of nucleation
is achieved. The third key challenge is channel engineering.
Electronic devices based on TMDC films require controllable
channel engineering to adjust the carrier type and carrier
density. Conventional doping techniques are not suitable for 2D
TMDC. The doped elements will cause surface damage and
degrade device performance. Surface charge transfer doping is
considered to be a non-destructive technique, and effectively
modulates the properties of TMDC films, but its applicability,
efficiency and stability need to be considered. The introduction
of high-k dielectrics on the surface of TMDC may be an effective
method to suppress charge impurities.
Device applications
In the past decade, 2D TMDCs have promoted substantial
research efforts in the field of electronics and optoelectronics.
However, a high percentage of these devices is based on the
mechanical exfoliation method, which makes it impossible for
practical application. The exploration of wafer-level TMDC-
based devices is still in its preliminary stages. Nevertheless,
their manufacturing process is more compatible with traditional
CMOS manufacturing processes, and there is a huge room for
improving material quality, which can significantly promote
their device applications. This section introduces the latest
developments in electronic and optoelectronic devices based Fig. 4 a) Scan image of a complementary inverter based on Si nanomembrane (NM) and
MoS2 FETs. b) The corresponding gain characteristic diagram of CMOS inverter. a)-b)
on wafer-scale TMDCs in recent years.
Reproduced from ref. 64 with permission from the Wiley-VCH, Copyright 2016. c) Optical
image of the ReS2 transistors and logic gates, such as NOR, NAND, and NOT gates. d)
Electronic devices. MoS2 has excellent electrical properties and Voltage transfer characteristics and signal gain of the NOT gate at Vdd = 1 V. Reproduced
is used as n-type material in most cases. Therefore, from ref. 65 with permission from the American Chemical Society, Copyright 2017. e)
The fabricated ML-MoS2 FET and logic gate array on the wafer. f) Voltage transfer curve
complementary logic circuits can only be manufactured by using
and gain of the inverter. e)-f) Reproduced from ref. 24 with permission from the Wiley-
p-type materials and MoS2 to form a heterogeneous VCH, Copyright 2018. g) Illustration of the monolayer MoS2 and WSe2 FET built on the
combination. However, most complementary logic inverters sapphire substrate and the voltage gain plotted of the input voltage (left); Schematic

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diagram of heterojunction CMOS devices (middle); The maximum gain exceeds 110 with quasi-reference electrode into the gel membrane. The CMOS
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a low input voltage (right). Reproduced from ref. 66 with permission from the Wiley-
inverter has excellent performance, withDOI:a voltage gain of up to
10.1039/D0NR08071C
VCH, Copyright 2016. h) Photograph of the flexible MoS2 transistor arrays (left); Output
voltage of an inverter as a function of input voltage when under different bending states 110, a large noise margin, and low power consumption. It is
(Inset: voltage gain of the inverter under an input of 4 V) (middle); Output waveform of currently the highest performance device based on wafer-scale
a five-stage ring oscillator at Vdd=15 V (right). Reproduced from ref. 67 with permission TMDC films (Fig. 4g).
from the Springer Nature Publishing AG, Copyright 2020. i) Schematic diagram of MoS2
Flexible electronic devices have a wide range of uses, including
device with h-BN encapsulated (left); Hall mobility of h-BN encapsulated MoS2 devices
as a function of temperature (right). Reproduced from ref. 68 with permission from the
wearable sensors, electronic skins, flexible displays, and energy
Springer Nature Publishing AG, Copyright 2015. converters. An important trend in this field is the large-scale
development of high-performance electronic devices. TMDC
Similarly, Dathbum et al. constructed large-area ReS2 transistors has been able to achieve wafer-level synthesis and has a good
and logic gates on large-scale ReS2 films synthesized by CVD.65 application prospect in the field of flexible electronic devices. Li
The authors used ReO3 and H2S as precursors to synthesize et al. used an improved LPCVD system to grow wafer-scale
wafer-scale multilayer ReS2 thin films on SiO2 substrates. A TMDC monolayers with large grain sizes and used Au/Ti/Au
monolayer of graphene grown by CVD was used as the electrodes to generate contact resistances as low as 2.9 kΩ μm-1
(Fig. 4h).67 The fabricated field-effect transistor has a high

source/drain electrode, and the graphene electrode was
bonded to the ReS2 film by a transfer method to form a device density (1518 per cm2) and has a high on/off current
transistor (Fig. 4c-d). The electron mobility of the transistor is ratio (1010), current density (~35 μA μm-1), mobility (~ 55 cm2 V-1
0.44 cm2 V-1 s-1, the switching ratio exceeds 104, and the turn- s-1). The author also uses this method to build various flexible
on voltage is -0.4 V. Although the carrier mobility and on/off integrated logic circuits: inverters, NOR gates, NAND gates, AND
current ratio of the ReS2 device are poor, this research has gates, static random access memory and five-stage ring
realized the large-scale synthesis of ReS2 and the construction oscillators. The inverter can achieve high voltage gains of 43 and
of large-area array devices, which has reference value for ReS2 107 when the bias voltage Vdd = 2 V and 4 V, respectively. The
materials. Interestingly, the tunability of the graphene five-stage ring oscillator can achieve a stable oscillation
electrode gate leads to high-quality contact with ReS2. frequency of 13.12 MHz when Vdd = 15 V. This research work
Compared to the devices using Cr electrodes, the contact provides a method for preparing large-scale flexible integrated
resistance is greatly reduced, and the device performance is MoS2 devices, which is expected to develop flexible electronic
significantly improved. devices for computing, communication, sensing and
The industrial application of TMDC film is currently difficult to information storage.
achieve. Although the performance of TMDC devices based on In the current study of monolayer or few-layer TMDC, the
the mechanical peeling method is excellent, it cannot meet the highest carrier mobility that can be achieved is far lower than
needs of mass production. The device array based on wafer- the theoretically predicted value. There are many reasons for
scale TMDC film is easier to achieve industrial production. The this situation, such as the internal defects of the TMDC film
problem is that the TMDC film in the current wafer-scale during the synthesis process and the potential external
research is polycrystalline, and the grain boundary will cause scattering sources. The research of Cui et al. developed a van
the device performance to decrease. Xu et al. improved the der Waals heterostructure device platform, which shields
previously reported CVD synthesis technology, obtained high- external scattering through the encapsulation of h-BN. The
quality continuous MoS2 films, and designed and manufactured device structure is shown in Fig. 4i.68 The MoS2 film is
inverters with better performance.24 They used a face-to-face completely encapsulated in the h-BN, and the gate tunable
approach to supply Mo precursors. Using MoS2 FET as a pull-up graphene is used as an electrode to contact the MoS2 film. The
FET and a pull-down FET implements a pseudo-logic inverter author separately produced and measured a series of MoS2
(Fig. 4e). By introducing multiple layers of MoS2 islands on MoS2 devices with different thicknesses. The experiment proved that
film to improve electrode contact and high-k dielectric h-BN has a good packaging effect, can effectively shield external
deposition, reduce contact resistance. The performance has scattering and disorder, and intrinsic electron-phonon
been significantly improved, the average effective mobility has scattering can be observed at room temperature, carrier
reached 70 cm2 V-1 s-1, the sub-threshold swing is about 150 mV mobility can reach 120 cm2V-1s-1 at room temperature and
dec-1, and the peak voltage gain of the inverter has reached 23 34000 cm2V-1s-1 at low temperature (10K). The large-area
(Fig. 4f). These properties are comparable to a mechanically synthesis of h-BN has been realized, and the packaging platform
peeled monolayer or multilayer TMDC film. In addition, Pu et al. of this structure is expected to realize large-area integrated
reported a high-performance monolayer TMDC high- production. In addition to reducing external scattering and
performance CMOS inverter.66 They have fabricated WSe2 and improving the performance of TMDC devices, h-BN can
MoS2 electric double layer transistors (EDLT) using ion gel effectively inhibit the photodegradation of TMDC. Ahn et al.
dielectrics and have grown highly crystalline centimeter-scale demonstrated the photodegradation of WSe2 and MoSe2,69 and
uniform WSe2 monolayer thin films using CVD systems. For the the encapsulation of h-BN reduced this photodegradation.
source and drain electrodes of two bipolar EDLTs, three Au Under the laser power greater than 0.1 mW, WSe2 begins to
contacts are thermally deposited on the film surface. The ion gel degrade. After the introduction of the water droplets, the
was drop-cast onto the WSe2 film, and the Pt foil was placed on degradation rate of WSe2 under 0.1 mW laser power increased
top of the gel film as a grid electrode. Finally, insert the gold sharply, and it was almost completely degraded in 200 s. After

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degradation under 0.1 mW power, and more than 90% PL peak DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08071C
can be maintained after 700 s under 2 mW power.
Optoelectronic devices. 2D TMDCs have excellent
optoelectronic properties. It is most promising to achieve the
widespread application of atomic thickness electroluminescent
devices. Sundaram et al. achieved Schottky-contact between a
single-layer MoS2 and Au/Cr electrodes and constructed a
monolayer TMDC electroluminescent device.70 By applying a
large bias voltage to the device, hot carriers with certain kinetic
energy are generated, excitons are excited at the interface
between MoS2 and the electrode, and exciton recombination
generates electroluminescence (EL). Although this study has
low quantum efficiency, it avoids the problem of selectively
doped nanostructures (Fig. 5a-b). Cheng et al. constructed a

new type of p-n diode based on MoS2 and WSe2 thin films
synthesized by CVD.71 The diode has excellent current
rectification performance with an ideal factor of 1.2 and an EQE
of 12%. The EL intensity of this diode is a function related to the
input current, showing a linear relationship in a monolayer
WSe2 p-n junction, and a sub-linear relationship in a bilayer (Fig.
5c-d). This phenomenon is caused by monolayer and bilayer
WSe2 being direct bandgap and indirect bandgap, respectively.
Ross et al. synthesized a MoSe2-WSe2 bilayer heterojunction
and applied a forward bias on the heterojunction to move
Fig. 5 a) Absorption (Abs), EL, and PL spectra on the same 1L-MoS2. b) Electrical transfer
carriers from one layer to another to form exciton (Fig. 5 e-f).72
characteristics of a 1L-MoS2 FET. a)-b) Reproduced from ref. 70 with permission from the
As smart devices become thinner, wearable smart electronic American Chemical Society, Copyright 2013. c) EL spectrum of bilayer WSe2/MoS2
systems have become a new development trend. This requires heterojunction under different injection currents. d) EL spectrum of the monolayer
materials with thin-film, large areas, and high mechanical WSe2/MoS2 heterojunction under different injection currents. c)-d) Reproduced from ref.
properties. 2D TMDCs is currently the most promising material 71 with permission from the American Chemical Society, Copyright 2014. e) Source-drain
bias dependence of interlayer exciton EL with corresponding I−V trace (red) overlaid. f)
to satisfy these conditions. In particular, it is used to
Spectra of EL (red) and photoluminescence (black) for heterostructure. The inset cartoon
manufacture flexible light-emitting devices. Choi et al. reported illustrates to which layer each source and drain contact (black lines) is connected, how
a flexible OLED display driven by an active matrix backplane carriers are injected into the device. e)-f) Reproduced from ref. 72 with permission from
circuit based on a large-area MoS2 thin-film TFT (Fig. 5g).73 The the American Chemical Society, Copyright 2016. g) Schematic diagram of the flexible
transparent light-emitting diode layer structure (left); The equivalent circuit diagram and
authors used the Al2O3 layer to design and manufacture a new
optical image of a single AM-OLED pixel (middle); AM-OLED photographic image while
type of TFT device (Fig. 5g left) and constructed a type that can working on the human wrist (right). Reproduced from ref. 73 with permission from the
synergistically produce a uniform mobility TFT array. The Al2O3 American Association for the Advancement of Science, Copyright 2018. h) Digital
covered TFT device reduces the contact resistance of the metal- photograph of the luminance change in the RGB OLEDs in a gate bias range of 4 to 9 V
MoS2 interface and reduces the scattered charge impurities. (The unit of emission intensity is cd/m2). Reproduced from ref. 74 with permission from
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Copyright 2020. i) Photograph
The array can be controlled by the gate to operate each OLED
of photodetector on a transparent substrate (left); Photoresponsivity depending on the
pixel effectively. This research laid the foundation for the wavelength (right). Reproduced from ref. 75 with permission from the American
industrial production of wearable display devices. Chemical Society, Copyright 2020.
Monochrome organic light-emitting diodes based on MoS2

backplane circuits have proven the powerful functionality of
MoS2 transistors, but only when highly complex control of red,
green and blue colors are achieved on a large area can they be
truly applied to OLED displays. Choi et al. reported a wearable
full-color OLED display based on 2D material backplane
transistors (Fig. 5h).74 By assembling an 18 × 18 thin film
transistor array on MoS2 and transferring it to Al2O3 (30
nm)/PET (6 μm). Three-color OLEDs of red, green and blue are
constructed on the upper surface. MoS2 exhibits excellent
mechanical and electrical properties in this OLED device, and
has been proven to be able to drive circuits used to control
OLED pixels. This kind of ultra-thin device substrate has broad

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unconventional substrates (i.e., human hands). DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08071C
Heterogeneous optoelectronic devices based on TMDC are also
one of the research hotspots. The usual method for
constructing heterostructures is to transfer TMDC films to
heterogeneous materials. During the transfer process, it is
inevitable that the interface of heterojunction will be polluted.
These pollutions will cause the degradation of device
performance. The research of Hoang et al. realized in-situ
epitaxial growth of MoS2 monolayer on wafer-scale graphene,

successfully synthesized wafer-scale MoS2/graphene
heterostructure, and constructed a large-area photodetectors
array (Fig. 5i).75 Authors used a metal-free method to synthesize
wafer-scale high-quality graphene on a sapphire substrate, and
then grow MoS2 in situ on the grown graphene/sapphire

substrate, and obtained a wafer-scale heterojunction with a
clean MoS2/graphene interface. The photodetector based on
this heterojunction exhibits an ultra-high light response rate of
4.3 × 104 A W-1. This method of growing heterojunctions in situ
should become a trend and gradually become the mainstream
of research.
Sensing devices. Bio-FET transducers for label-free electrical

Fig. 6 a) Schematic illustration of a MoS2 FET configuration (left), and changes in △Vth
detection of biomolecules have high sensitivity and low
with the concentration of complementary, non-complementary, and single-base
detection limits (LOD), so they are currently the focus of mismatched DNA molecules (right). Reproduced from ref. 76 with permission from the
research. The bio-FET with a one-dimensional (1D) structure has Springer, Copyright 2015. b) Schematic of NO2 gas sensor structure (left); The transient
been proved to be useful in monitoring biological serum. response-recovery curve of as-fabricated gas sensors to different concentrations of NO2
However, due to the high cost and the limitations of at room temperature (middle); Responses of as-fabricated gas sensors as a function of
NO2 concentration (right). Reproduced from ref. 77 with permission from the Elsevier
nanofabrication, it cannot truly achieve industrial production
B.V., Copyright 2017. c) Schematic of an implantable biosensor. d) Image of a MoS2-
and service. FETs based on 2D semiconductor materials have based bioabsorbable sensor implanted in a rat. e) Comparison of the performances of
excellent optical, electrical, and mechanical properties, so some the biosensor and commercial sensors. c)-e) Reproduced from ref. 78 with permission
researchers began to use 2D semiconductor materials to from the Springer Nature Publishing AG, Copyright 2018. f) Schematic of the device (left)
and the relationship between the transfer curve of the device unit at a drain voltage of
construct bio-FETs. Lee et al. built a biosensor based on the
1 V and external pressure (right). Reproduced from ref. 79 with permission from the
TMDC FET.76 The authors removed the gates in the logic American Chemical Society, Copyright 2019.
transistors and modified the dielectric layer with specific
acceptors. Receptors can capture target biomolecules with high
Besides, transient electronics is a new type of technology that
selectivity. When the receptor captures a biomolecule, it
has emerged in recent years. Materials can physically disappear
generates an electrostatic gating effect and translates it into a
or decompose in a controlled manner within a controlled time.
readable signal with the electrical characteristics (drain-source
The device constructed with this material can normally run
current) of the FET. Fig. 6a is a schematic diagram of a typical
during the service period and can degrade itself after the service
biosensor. The biosensor has excellent sensing performance:
period, avoiding the problems caused by recycling and
LOD: 10 fm; dynamic range: 106; sensitivity: 17 mV/dec.
collection. This material is suitable for environmental sensors
Nowadays, the extensive use of fossil fuels produced too many
and medical diagnostic equipment that are not harmful to the
harmful gases, and the detection of toxic gases is particularly
environment. 2D TMDCs also belong to this type of material.
essential. NO2 is the most common air pollutant in various gases
Chen et al. constructed an implantable multifunctional sensor
due to fossil fuel combustion emissions and automobile exhaust
on a MoS2 monolayer film (Fig. 6c-d).78 The sensor can monitor
emissions. Therefore, a sensitive sensor is needed to detect NO2
information such as intracranial pressure, temperature, and
concentration in time. Xu et al. developed a NO2 sensor based
strain in animals, and its performance is comparable to
on the MoS2 film and described the working mechanism of the
commercially available sensors (Fig. 6e). The sensor can be
sensor (Fig. 6b).77 When MoS2 is exposed to NO2, NO2 will be
controlled to self-degrade, and the time to start degradation
oxidized, NO2 molecules are adsorbed on MoS2 as NO2+ ions,
can be changed by changing the modification layer. They
and electrons are extracted from the valence band of MoS2. A
studied the sensor's cytotoxicity and biocompatibility. After the
hole layer is formed on the surface of MoS2. The hole layer
sensor was implanted in mice, it showed no immune response.
makes MoS2 more conductive.
The sensor degrades naturally after implantation in mice
without causing tissue damage and cytotoxicity. This research

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has a broad application prospect and may be applied in the field Large-scale synthesis of TMDCs via solution-based
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of clinical medicine in the future. approach
DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08071C
Besides, flexible tactile sensors are also popular research
directions in recent years and can be applied to the fields of This section presents the solution-based production methods
biomedicine, wearable devices, and robots. Park et al. reported for TMDC materials and discusses the mechanism in detail. In
an active tactile sensor that can be attached to the skin.79 A addition to highlighting the large-scale synthesis of TMDC films,
schematic and a cross-sectional view of the sensor is shown in we review and discuss methods to produce 1D structures of
Fig. 6f. The sensor has excellent performance, a wide sensing TMDCs.
range (1-120 kPa), high sensitivity (ΔR/R0: 0.011 kPa−1), and fast
response time (180 ms). When the sensor is connected to the Large-area 2D films
palm to grasp an external object, the approximate shape of the As mentioned in the previous section, CVD is widely used for the
object can be obtained based on accurate multi-point sensing. production of large-area, high-quality 2D material thin films.
The sensor is built on an ultra-thin flexible substrate and may be However, since the synthesis process is carried out at low
applied to wearable devices and electronic skin in the future. pressure and high temperature, specific substrates are required
In the past decade, significant advancements in 2D TMDC have

for material growth. Moreover, continuous film growth is time-
led to promising electronic and optoelectronic applications. consuming, and the precise control of film thickness over the
Related device research has done a lot of works, but most entire wafer-scale substrate is challenging. On the contrary,
devices are prototype devices based on the domain obtained by although receiving less attention than CVD synthesis, solution-
the mechanical peeling method. The repeatability is poor and it based synthesis methods are emerging as an alternative
is difficult to achieve real applications. Research on ultra-large- approach due to its simple to scale up for mass production in a
scale devices based on wafer-scale TMDC films is still in the short time. Besides, solution-based methods offer a new way to
initial stage. There are also several major problems in the achieve things that cannot be done by using the CVD method,
prototype device that need to be resolved. First, due to the high such as synthesis inside the optical fiber capillaries, and can be
synthesis temperature of 2D TMDC thin films, it is difficult to applied for various types of flexible substrates, including
directly synthesize TMDC films in situ when constructing laser polymer substrates.80
diodes, light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and other Chalcometalates are the most widely used precursors for TMDC
heterojunction devices. It needs to use the transfer to build the thin film synthesis by thermal decomposition. In an ideal
device. The process will cause film damage, wrinkles and precursor, the cation lying outside the metal-chalcogen
contaminants. This limits the performance and industrial framework plays an important role, as it must decompose
application of the device. Therefore, the low-temperature during the pyrolysis reaction. In addition, the molecular weight
synthesis of TMDC films and the damage-free transfer need to of the cation must not be too high since a high molecular weight
be solved urgently. MOCVD and LPCVD may achieve the low- will lead to a significant weight loss during the thermal
temperature synthesis of TMDC films. These two methods are treatment, which will cause cracks or discontinuity in the thin
different from other CVD due to the precursor selection and film. To prevent oxidation, the thermal treatment is carried out
growth mechanism. Low-temperature growth will not under an inert environment. The pyrolysis process involves
significantly reduce the quality and performance of the film. several intermediate steps. First, the solvent and cation are
Also, the surface pretreatment of the substrate may achieve removed, which results in the densification of the film. The rate
damage-free transfer. Second, regarding the metal/TMDC of this reaction is accelerated by increasing the temperature.
contact interface, since TMDC has an atomic-scale thickness, Next, a continuous film is generated from the amorphous
the original surface is difficult to handle, so it is difficult to inorganic state after most of the cations are removed. Finally,
obtain an ohmic contact with low contact resistance. Traditional at a high temperature, the energy barrier decreases, and a
contact methods will cause gap states and Fermi level pinning, crystalline film of the target material is formed from the
which will greatly increase contact resistance and reduce device amorphous film. The number of layers is determined by the
performance. Although TMDC has made remarkable progress in initial precursor concentration. It is worth noting that high-
the field of high-quality electrical contacts and high- temperature pyrolysis makes it difficult to control the film
performance devices, the contact resistance of TMDC is still 1-3 uniformity. To achieve a uniform high-quality crystalline film, a
orders of magnitude higher than Si CMOS. Electronic devices two-step process involving the formation of a homogeneous
based on 2D TMDC have more research space, and the amorphous film at a low temperature and its transformation to
reduction of contact resistance will greatly improve the a crystalline film at a higher temperature is performed. Li et al.
performance of the device. Third, the stability of the device. first reported the large-area growth of a MoS2 film by a solution-
Although the stability of 2D TMDC far exceeds that of BP, the based method.81 The substrate was dip-coated in a (NH4)2MoS4
effective service life of devices based on 2D TMDC is still very solution and annealed at a low pressure of 1 Torr and a
low. Need to explore surface modification, packaging and other temperature of 500 °C. A thin film is prepared by immersing a
means to improve the service life of the device. substrate into a TMDC dispersion solution and then evaporating
the solvent during the retrieval of the substrate from the
solution. Therefore, the concentration of the dispersion,
viscosity of the solution, the boiling point of the solvent, and

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pulling speed need to be considered to obtain uniform coverage films can be obtained over a large area under ambient
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of the TMDC film on the substrate. The limitation of this method conditions without damage to the substrate. The thickness of
DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08071C
is the need for a high temperature (i.e., 1000 °C) and a sulfur- synthesized films is determined by the precursor coating step.
rich environment in the second annealing step to improve the This method allows the elimination of the patterning process
crystallinity and electrical performance of the MoS2 film. after synthesis, as well as provides the direct synthesis of
Spin coating is also a commonly used method for preparing thin vertical heterojunction structures with a sharp interface even
films on various substrates. The dispersion solution is dropped on flexible substrates such as polymers. However, the
cast onto a substrate that is rotated at a high speed. During the inhomogeneity of the energy density in the pulses and the
rotation of the substrate, the solution spreads over the rough surface caused by the overlapping exposure regions are
substrate owing to centripetal force. Subsequently, the solvent the limitations of this method, which can degrade the electrical
is evaporated to obtain the film. Spin coating is a cost-effective properties of as-grown semiconducting films. Also, the small
and simple method for producing large-area thin films on a grain size and high cost are the major obstacles to the
variety of substrates. However, material wastage is inevitable. application of the pulsed laser method into large-scale
Another limitation of this method is the inability of fabricating production.
uniform large-area films.82,83 The liquid dewets the substrate to

form islands, thus generating holes owing to spinodal
decomposition when the thickness of the liquid reaches a
critical value. To synthesize uniform thin films, the
homogeneous coating of the precursor on the substrate
without dewetting is necessary. Jeong et al. developed a highly
uniform coating process involving polymer-assisted deposition
followed by one-step thermolysis at 700 °C without
sulfurization (Fig. 7a).84 By using linear polyethylenimine that
can form a precursor–polymer complex, a highly uniform MoS2
film was synthesized on a 6-inch wafer. In this study, the choice
of the polymer plays an important role. The selected polymer
provides better adhesion to the substrate, thus avoid the
dewetting of the precursor. In addition, the polymer needs to
be deposed at a proper temperature to avoid carbon residue.
Moreover, the thickness of the synthesized MoS2 film could be
controlled by adjusting the concentration of the precursor in
the coating solution. However, it is difficult to produce
monolayer MoS2 films with high crystallinity by this method.
Using the same approach, i.e., by using a polymer for uniform
coating, Sankaran et al. recently produced a large-area MoS2
film by a plasma-enhanced chemical film conversion (PECFC)
process (Fig. 7b).85 Similar to plasma-enhanced CVD, the
authors utilized the plasma to create energetic species for the
film conversion at a lower growth temperature. As the result,
the MoS2 is synthesized at 500 °C and atmospheric pressure
with negligible sulfur vacancies are detected. However, the
plasma treatment resulted in a rough, nanostructured, and
rippled film surface due to the bombardment of plasma species,
and the film exhibited in-plane and out-of-plane strain. Fig. 7 Synthesis methods: a) Polymer-assisted deposition of thin film. Reproduced from
Therefore, the synthesized film is not suitable for thin-film ref. 84 with permission from the American Chemical Society, Copyright 2017. b) MoS2
transistors. Instead, the rippled structure could enhance the synthesis using plasma-enhanced chemical film conversion. Reproduced from ref. 85
with permission from the American Chemical Society, Copyright 2019. c) Layer-selective
hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of the synthesized
synthesis TMDs using pulsed laser. Reproduced from ref. 86 with permission from the
MoS2. American Chemical Society, Copyright 2020. d) Two-step growth of MoS2-embedded
Laser-induced crystallization is a well-established method in the optical fiber. Reproduced from ref. 87 with permission from Nature Publishing Group,
semiconductor industry. Recently, a team led by Hong and Lee Copyright 2020. e) One-step synthesis using microwave-assisted selective heating of the
substrate. Reproduced from ref. 88 with permission from the Wiley-VCH, Copyright 2017.
synthesized MoS2 and WS2 by this method.81 First, (NH4)2MoS4
f) Roll-to-roll thermal decomposition for layer controlled MoS2 on Ni foils. Reproduced
and (NH4)2WS4 solutions were spin-coated on a SiO2/Si wafer, from ref. 90 with permission from the Wiley-VCH, Copyright 2018. g) Roll-to-roll
and then, the coated wafers were baked at 150 °C on a hot plate deposition apparatus of self-assembled MoS2 film at the liquid−liquid interface between
to completely remove the solvents. The precursors were then the top and bottom liquids. Reproduced from ref. 100 with permission from the
irradiated with a pulsed laser to allow decomposition and American Chemical Society, Copyright 2019.
crystallization (Fig. 7c). By providing sufficient input energy to

over the pyrolysis temperature of precursors, MoS2 and WS2

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Due to their strong light-matter interaction, TMDC materials absence of H2 during the desulfurization process isView necessary to
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draw the attention of nonlinear optics and ultrafast photonics, precisely control the stoichiometry. The uniform MoS2 film was
DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08071C
especially in nonlinear optical fibers. Recently, Liu et al. synthesized on a 50 cm-long Ni foil, which demonstrates the
reported the direct growth of MoS2 onto the internal walls of a capability of the R2R process for TMDC production. Moreover,
SiO2 fiber by taking advantage of the solution method (Fig. in a new study, the authors developed a large-area compatible
7d).87 The authors introduced the Mo source into the fiber holes solution-based synthetic route for MoS2(1−x)Se2x ternary alloys
by the capillarity of Na2MoO4 aqueous solution, followed by the with a customizable bichalcogen atomic ratio, thus
sulfurization reaction at a high temperature of 820 °C. The demonstrating the potential of the 2D alloy for industrial
coverage and thickness of MoS2 inside the SiO2 fibers can be applications such as photonic devices and catalysts for HER.91
tuned by controlling the concentration of Na2MoO4 solution. Solution-based synthesis is considered a highly promising
Although the concept is simple, the choice of precursor and method for producing nanomaterials as the growth parameters
solvent should be taken into account to get high-quality TMDC are highly controllable; however, the synthetic implementation
with uniform coverage inside the fiber. This paper offers a new for single-layer TMDC flakes has been challenging. Numerous
way to realize TMD-embedded optical fiber growth. studies have reported the synthesis of TMDC materials in liquid
Furthermore, Giri et al. recently demonstrated a one-step media. However, such reactions often result in the formation of

synthesis of group VI thin films in a solution phase directly on Si hierarchical structures.92-95 As the flakes grow from the edge of
substrates by a microwave-assisted crystal growth method (Fig. the seed nuclei, the formation of seeding crystals that is a
7e).88 The authors dissolved the metal and chalcogen precursors monolayer is crucial to achieving a monolayer product.
in an electrolyte solution and drop cast the solution between Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the growth conditions to
two substrates. The sample was then placed in a microwave ensure that TMDC nanosheet growth occurs preferentially in
oven and irradiated for a short time. The conductive p++ Si wafer the in-plane direction and not in the out-of-plane direction.
can absorb the majority of the incident microwave, thus Cheon et al. developed a methodology for the growth of group
generating heat at the substrate surface. To prevent the IV, V, and VI TMDCs in liquid media.96-98 During the nucleation
formation of nanoparticles, the substrate temperature was and growth process, the chalcogen source influx was controlled,
maintained above the critical temperature of precursor which is a critical parameter for obtaining monolayer TMDCs
thermolysis (Tc), while the solution temperature was with a lateral size of hundreds of nanometers. Their results
maintained below Tc. In addition, by adding liquid electrolyte (1- indicated that, although the product grew in the lateral planes,
butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate), the convective the nucleation step was dominant, which resulted in the
heat transfer was facilitated to avoid the localized heating of the formation of small nanosheets. To produce large TMDC flakes,
substrate, thus avoiding the formation of non-uniform films. a new approach in which the nucleation step can be controlled
Under these temperature conditions, thin films can form on the is required. In addition, the appropriate selection of
substrate surface, and the electrolyte solution can be removed coordinating ligands is crucial, as they play an important role in
by washing with a solvent. Large-area monolayer TMDC thin controlling the morphology of the TMDC materials. Ozin et al.
films can be produced by this simple process, and the film demonstrated that a mixture of mono- and few-layer 2H-WS2
thickness can be precisely controlled by varying the precursor flakes could be obtained by using oleylamine; however, the
concentration in the electrolyte solution. However, a product was colloidally unstable.99 Moreover, the authors
conducting substrate is required to obtain a uniform film with observed that by introducing oleic acid to the reaction,
good crystallinity and a smooth surface. colloidally stable 1T-WS2 nanosheets could be achieved.
From the perspective of industrial application, the roll-to-roll Recently, Sivula et al. reported R2R TMDC film deposition to
(R2R) method offers cost and time effectiveness for mass produce large-area TMDC films (Fig. 7g).100 The authors
production. Moreover, the groundbreaking work on the R2R employed a liquid−liquid interface to achieve exceptional 2D
synthesis of 30-inch monolayer graphene on Cu has stimulated nanoflake self-assembly. In this study, the TMDC flakes are first
research on a wide variety of graphene-based applications.84 synthesized in the solution phase, following by depositing on a
Recently, Lim et al. developed a novel thermal decomposition rollable substrate. The needle location, rate of injection, and the
technique combined with the R2R process for the large-scale moving speed of the substrate and pusher were found to be
production of MoS2 films.90 In this method, the precursors are important factors for producing a uniform TMDC film. In
first deposited on a rollable substrate, following by the addition, the R2R method is highly adaptable and can be used
decomposition of precursors together with the rolling process for multiple depositions, heterojunction formation, and a
to continuously produce the TMDC film in a large area. For variety of layered materials. This method can avoid material
substrate selection, the reaction of metal foil with sulfur species wastage which is inevitable by using the spin coating method.
should be considered. In this study, Lim et al. suggested that The substrate roughness, adhesion between the substrate and
nickel foil is more suitable than copper foil to avoid the TMDC materials, and the type of liquids should be considered in
formation of cracks caused by the denaturation of metal foils the future to further improve the R2R method.
during synthesis. In addition, the low-temperature process can
reduce the chemical reaction between Ni and S. The (NH4)2MoS4 Self-assembled wires
was then coated on a Ni foil, followed by two-step pyrolysis
using the R2R method (Fig. 7f). The authors proposed that the

not adjust margins
Over the last five years, the continued miniaturization of silicon highly oriented growth, Gopalan et al. developed ViewaArticle
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microelectronics has provided an impetus to the information method for synthesizing arrays of TMDC nanowires with sub-20
DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08071C
technology revolution. However, the lithography fabrication nm width.104 Using poly(styrene-block-2-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-
method as the technical foundation for silicon microelectronics P2VP) block copolymer as a thin-film template, the method can
is quickly reaching its limits. Meanwhile, the bottom-up produce uniform high-density structures for the selective
assembly strategy that can complement the traditional top- seeding of Mo precursors from the solution, resulting in the
down-based silicon semiconductors with new functions has formation of spatially localized as-grown MoS2 nanowires (Fig.
attracted considerable research interest. Since 1D 8d). The polymer used as the template should be carefully
semiconductors can be used as both interconnects and device selected to achieve uniform distribution and avoid
elements in nanocircuits, they have attracted considerable contamination, which can deteriorate the quality of the TMDC
interest for usage in the bottom-up assembly of functional nanowires.
electronic and optoelectronic devices. Researchers are eager to
develop assembly strategies for creating well-organized
nanowire arrays. To synthesize self-assembled nanowires, the
solution-based coating of the TMDC precursor followed by

pyrolysis is a promising approach. The processing parameters
include the surface energy of the substrate, solution properties
(i.e., pH, viscosity, wetting characteristics, and evaporation
speed), concentration of the precursor, internal flow, and
temperature. In particular, the solution viscosity and the
coating process determine the target width and thickness of the
nanowires. Recently, Ahn et al. demonstrated a two-step
pyrolysis process for the tunable growth of TMDC nanowires.101
In this method, TMDC precursors were deposited on a substrate
by dip coating. The self-assembled morphology of the product
was controlled by adjusting the dip-coating process parameters
such as temperature, solution pH, solvent evaporation rate, and
humidity. A homogeneous (NH4)2MoS4 thin film was formed at
a relatively high temperature and fast evaporation rate,
whereas a dendritic structure was obtained at a relatively slow
evaporation rate. Besides, the authors demonstrated the
controllable formation of a uniformly spaced wire structure at a
slow evaporation rate by adjusting the pH with an acidic
precursor solution. The thickness of the nanowires as well as the
interspaces between the wires could be controlled by the
Fig. 8 a) The modified solution process for self-assembled TMDC nanowires. Reproduced
Marangoni effect by manipulating the surface tension of the
from ref. 101 with permission from the Wiley-VCH, Copyright 2015. b) Optical
solution. In addition, by using additional steps with (NH4)2WS4 microscopy images of cross-aligned and parallel-aligned WSe2/MoS2 heterostructure.
precursor on the MoS2 wires, the authors successfully produced Reproduced from ref. 102 with permission from the Wiley-VCH, Copyright 2019. c) SEM
WS2/MoS2 heterostructure wires (Fig. 8a). In a very recent study, of NbSe2 nanowires synthesized in oleylamine. Reproduced from ref. 103 with
Ahn et al. upgraded the method to create a large-scale permission from the American Chemical Society, Copyright 2005. d) Synthetic process
for block copolymer templated MoS2 nanowire arrays. Reproduced from ref. 104 with
heterostructure array.102 The authors demonstrated that WSe2
permission from the American Chemical Society, Copyright 2016. e)-f) Self-scrolling of
wires could be selectively stacked over MoS2 wires at a specific TMD monolayer flakes and optical image of typical TMD nanoscroll, respectively.
angle by manipulating the Marangoni flow of the solution, Reproduced from ref. 105 with permission from Nature Publishing Group, Copyright
resulting in the formation of parallel- and cross-aligned WSe2– 2018.
MoS2 heterojunctions (Fig. 8b). Their solution-based growth
technique offers a novel approach for large-area optoelectronic Further, the fabrication of 1D semiconductor materials from 2D
applications. materials is another effective strategy. Zheng et al. presented a
Odom et al. first reported the solution-based synthesis of 2D simple approach by utilizing the intrinsic stresses of the
nanoplates and 1D nanowires in 2005.103 In a typical reaction, materials, which is related to the kinetic processes of thin-film
NbSe2 nanostructures were formed in a one-pot reaction growth.105 In this work, the authors employed an ethanol
followed by high-temperature pyrolysis. Different solution to scroll chemical vapor deposition-grown TMDCs,
morphologies could be formed by quenching the reaction at creating high-quality TMDC nanoscrolls with nearly 100% yield
different temperatures. Nanoplates were formed when the (Fig. 8e). During the cooling step in the growth process, a strain
reaction was cooled slowly, while nanowires were formed when was produced in the TMDC film because of the differences in
the hot reaction was quenched rapidly (Fig. 8c). However, the coefficients of thermal expansion of the film and substrate.
preferential growth in a certain direction cannot be achieved by By intercalating a liquid film such as ethanol solution between
this method. To produce large-area TMDC nanowires with the TMDC flakes and the substrate, the thermal stresses were

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released, which resulted in the formation of nanoscrolls (Fig. 8f). wavelength center at 1560 nm with a ~500 fs pulse duration,
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The self-encapsulated nanoscroll structure is stable and indicating that it is ready for industrial applications.
DOI: 10.1039/D0NR08071C
insensitive to ambient conditions; thus, the optical and
electronic properties of the materials are better than those of
its 2D counterparts. The types of substrate and solution were
determined as the crucial factors that can be controlled to
achieve straight nanoscrolls with a high yield.
Device applications
A variety of 2D materials have tunable electronic structures,

good mechanical flexibility, and high optical transparency. Also,
owing to their low-temperature solution processability and
tunable electronic properties, solution-based TMDC materials
have attracted significant attention for various applications,

especially for flexible electronic and optoelectronic devices.
Ahn et al. first demonstrated a MoS2 wire-based FET array with
effective electron mobility of approximately 100 cm2V-1s-1,
on/off current ratio of approximately 104, and a subthreshold
slope of approximately 194 mVdec-1, which are comparable to
those of exfoliated MoS2 FETs (Fig. 9a).101 The solution-based
synthesis method provides an effective way to produce aligned
MoS2 wire, which cannot be obtained using CVD methods. In
addition, the device operated stably even under distortion
caused by twisting and bending, which makes it a good choice
for flexible electronics. Recently, the authors improved the
device performance by developing a method for fabricating
self-assembled WSe2–MoS2 heterostructures. The p–n Fig. 9 a) Optical microscopy images of flexible MoS2/graphene hybrid transistor on a
heterojunction with a clean interface exhibited high transparent plastic substrate. Reproduced from ref. 101 with permission from the Wiley-
photoresponsivity with a short response time of less than 16 µs VCH, Copyright 2015. b) The optical microscopy image of WSe2/MoS2 based photodiodes
(Fig. 9b).102 The WSe2/MoS2 array-based prototype could detect and its photoresponsivity depending on the wavelength. Reproduced from ref. 102 with
permission from the Wiley-VCH, Copyright 2019. c) Electroluminescence spectra of
not only the intensity but also the position of an external light
ultraviolet OLED with MoS2+PEDOT:PSS. Reproduced from ref. 106 with permission from
source with a wide range of wavelengths. the Royal Society of Chemistry, Copyright 2019. d) Ultrafast laser based on MoS2-
OLEDs are widely used in display panels nowadays and are embedded photonic crystal fibers. Reproduced from ref. 87 with permission from Nature
considered for application in future wearable displays. Research Publishing Group, Copyright 2020. e) Photodiode based on WSe2/MoS2 2D-1D
is underway to improve the performance as well as stability of heterostructure and its I-V curves under the illumination with different incident power
intensities. Reproduced from ref. 108 with permission from the Wiley-VCH, Copyright
OLED displays for long-term use. Zhang et al. fabricated a high- 2019. f) Typical assembled dye-sensitized solar cell with MoS2xSe2(1-x) and its J-V curves
performance ultraviolet OLED using MoS2 mixed with under simulated sunlight 100 mW cm-2. Reproduced from ref. 109 with permission from
PEDOT:PSS as the hole-injection layer (Fig. 9c).101 The addition the Wiley-VCH, Copyright 2016. g) Electrochemical HER performance of TMD alloys.
of solution-synthesized MoS2 improved not only the conduction Reproduced from ref. 110 with permission from the Wiley-VCH, Copyright 2018.
but also the stability of the PEDOT:PSS layer. The fabricated

OLED produced short-wavelength electroluminescence at 376 Flexible solar cells are expected to become the next-generation
nm with a radiance of 11.9 mW cm-2 and an EQE of power generation devices for smart wearable devices. Recently,
approximately 4.14%. Moreover, the visible OLED using MoS2 Iwasa et al. demonstrated that by reducing the crystal
additive exhibited high efficiencies of 8.1 cdA-1 and 5.7 lmW-1. symmetry of TMDC materials from a 2D film to a 1D nanotube,
Thus, this method presents a new approach for advancing the bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) could be significantly
TMDC applications. enhanced.107 Thus, the photocurrent density generated by the
Liu et al. recently reported the concept of TMDC-embedded nanotube is larger than that generated by other BPVE materials.
optical fibers, thus the authors can create the ultrafast pulsed Taking advantage of both 1D and 2D forms of TMDC materials,
laser. By direct growth of MoS2 onto the internal walls of a SiO2 Zhang et al. recently fabricated a high-performance photodiode
optical fiber, the MoS2-embedded photonic crystal fibers (PCF) based on WSe2–MoS2 heterostructures (Fig. 9e).108 The hybrid
can be utilized instead of a traditional saturable absorber, structure contains both MoS2 nanoscroll and WSe2 thin film, and
therefore, the all-fiber mode-locked laser can be realized (Fig. the formed p–n junction exhibited good photovoltaic
9d).87 The MoS2 PCF shows a low coupling loss of ~1 dB and a characteristics with a large open-circuit voltage of 0.18 V,
nonlinear absorption modulation depth of 10% with a photoresponsivity of 0.3 A W-1, and short response time of 5 ms.
saturation peak intensity of 0.8 MW cm-2. In addition, the pulsed In addition, the dark current was suppressed, which led to an
laser presents a maximum output power of ~6 mW, the increase in the photocurrent-to-dark-current ratio by two
orders of magnitude compared with that of the device

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comprising only MoS2 nanoscroll. This demonstrates that the area lateral and vertical TMDC heterostructures is View
the Article
nextOnline
step
integration of 1D and 2D structures is promising for electronic in this research direction. However, the DOI:fundamental issues
10.1039/D0NR08071C
applications. related to heteroepitaxial growth need to be addressed. For
TMDC materials have also been extensively studied for example, since the first layer serves as a substrate for the
application in energy conversion and storage devices owing to growth of the second layer, the properties of the underlying
their rich redox chemistry, which affords excellent layer, including grain boundaries, defects, and strain, will affect
electrochemical activities. Researchers have attempted to take the growth of the second layer in terms of precursor adsorption,
advantage of the ternary TMDCs owing to their tunable nucleation, domain orientation, and lateral or vertical growth.
electrical and catalytic properties. Zhang et al. fabricated a dye- Furthermore, reproducibility, uniform property distribution,
sensitized solar cell (DSSC) using FTO-coated solution- and up-scaling remain the challenging issues that need to be
synthesized MoS2xSe2(1-x) that exhibited an open-circuit voltage resolved. Finally, a deeper understanding of material properties
of 0.75 V and a power conversion efficiency of 6.5% that are depending on the atomic structure is required to design
comparable to those of the DSSC comprising FTO-coated Pt (0.8 materials for specific applications.
V and 7.0%, respectively) (Fig. 9f).109 The method is a new
approach to the fabrication of high-performance Pt-free DSSC

devices. Further, HER is a promising route to producing Conflicts of interest
hydrogen as a high-power-density fuel. Among TMDCs, 2H- There are no conflicts to declare.
phase MoS2 has received significant attention for usage in HER
as the MoS2 edge exhibits a higher HER activity than the basal
planes. Most of the TMDCs are stable in the 2H phase, thus the Acknowledgements
solution-based synthesis process provides an effective method
The work was financially supported by the National Research
to obtain the 1T phase, which is a challenge using CVD methods.
Foundation of Korea (NRF-2015R1A3A2066337), the National
It is noteworthy that because of increased conductivity, 1T-
Natural Science Foundation of China (92064007, 91964103), the
MoS2 is more catalytically active in HER than 2H-MoS2. Zhang et
Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20190476),
al. developed a facile approach for the large-scale production of
and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central
MoSxSe1-x with a high fraction of the 1T phase for HER.110
Universities (30919011296) of China.
Importantly, the solution-synthesized MoSxSe1-x exhibited an
enhanced HER performance with a Tafel slope of 40 mV dec-1,
which is close to that of Pt (28 mV dec-1) (Fig. 9g). In addition, Notes and references
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Various CVD Method Types and Their Device Applications

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coplanar heterostructure (Fig. 1f). A 1-1.5 nm thick Mo film was

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