The moiré formed by a monolayer of hexagonal boron nitride with Ir(111) provides through a chemisorbed valley region within a physisorbed mesa a unique site for its functionalization. Through gentle ion irradiation and mild annealing a regular array of vacancy clusters is created with the clusters positioned at the valleys where their edges bind to the substrates. Such a nanomesh with a regular array of holes with sizes below 1 nm holds promise for filter applications. Through vapor phase deposition of a variety of materials (e.g. Au or C) arrays of clusters with of tunable size and high thermal stability are formed at valley regions. Compared to the graphene moiré the templating effect of the hexagonal boron nitride moiré is superior due to the uniqueness of the valley pinning site in the unit cell.

Monolayers of hexagonal boron nitride or graphene are also excellent substrates for the on-surface synthesis of new compounds ranging from metal-organic nanowires to transition metal disulfides created by reactive molecular beam epitaxy with elemental sulfur. This synthesis method provides clean, well-decoupled layers with only well-defined defects.

The most exciting defects we observed so far are two types of mirror twin boundaries in MoS₂ islands. In these boundaries we observe for the first time spin-charge separation in real space making use of the unique local spectroscopic capabilities of low temperature STM and STS to identify the position and energy of quantum mechanical states in a one dimensional box. We critically discuss these results in the light of previous related research.

Contributions to this work by Wouter Jolie, Joshua Hall, Clifford Murray, Moritz Will, Phil Valerius, Charlotte Herbig, Carsten Speckmann, Tobias Wekking, Carsten Busse, Fabian Portner, Philipp Weiß, Achim Rosch, Arkady Krasheninnikov, Hannu-Pekka Komsa, Borna Pielić, Marko Kralj, Vasile Caciuc and Nicolae Atodiresei as well as financial support through CRC1238 within projects A01 and B06 of DFG are gratefully acknowledged.

Due to its electrical properties graphene (G) has been successfully used as a sensing element for the detection of different gases reaching ppm sensitivities which are ascribed to the doping induced by adsorption. The sensitivity depends indeed critically on the chemical nature of the gas and is lower for CO than for other poisoning species. The nature of the active sites is, however, still unclear. If it were due to physisorption, the values of the adsorption energy cannot explain the need for high temperature re-generation of the sensing element. Chemisorption must thus be involved, either at defects or by doping, determining the magnitude of the heat of adsorption and consequently the sensitivity and the range of temperatures at which the sensor can operate. In order to clarify these issues we investigated experimentally adsorption of CO on G supported on polycrystalline Cu and Ni(111) by HREELS and XPS.

No adsorbed CO was found at RT while at 100 K chemisorbed CO forms on G supported on Ni(111). G on Cu is on the contrary inert. This result indicates that the nature of the substrate plays an essential role in the adsorption process. The heat of adsorption q is estimated to be about 0.58 eV/molecule at low coverage, so that an equilibrium coverage of 0.1 ML is expected at RT under a CO partial pressure of only 10 mbar. We identify top-bridge graphene as the most reactive configuration.

Doping G/Ni(111) by N₂⁺ ion bombardment allows for the formation of a second, more strongly bound moiety, characterized by a CO stretch frequency of 236 meV and by an initial heat of adsorption (0.85 eV/molecule). The presence of N (in pyridinic or substitutional sites) enhances therefore significantly the chemical reactivity of G/Ni(111) towards CO.

Finally in presence of isolated defects, created by low energy Ne⁺ ions bombardment on single layer graphene supported on different substrates (polycrystalline Cu and Ni(111)), no CO adsorption occurs for defected G/Cu, while HREELS peaks form promptly for G/Ni(111). Two moieties, desorbing just above 350 K, are present under vacuum conditions after exposure at RT. The CO stretch frequencies and the ratio of their intensities indicate that they are due to chemisorbed CO at the G/Ni(111) interface close to the vacancies rather than at the defected G layer. The red-shift of the C1s binding energy indicates that in such regions detachment of the G layer from the substrate occurs.

Amending of vacancies occurs for subsequent exposures, as demonstrated by the reduction of the adsorbed coverage in subsequent CO doses followed by annealing at 380 K, indicating that a Bouduard-like reaction takes place under the graphene cover.

Deposition of Cu on a sputtered graphite surface, in ultrahigh vacuum, can be manipulated to produce buried islands of metallic, multilayer Cu. The Cu islands are covered by a graphitic layer consisting of several graphene sheets. This layer drapes like a tarpaulin over the Cu islands. We have observed flat-topped islands as tall as 40 nm and as wide as 600 nm. One of the most striking features of island geometry is the fact that the slope of the tarpaulin at the sides of the islands is invariant over a wide range of island volumes. The variation of the ratio of island diameter to height as a function of island volume is far less regular in the experimental data, suggesting that kinetic limitations may play a role in determining this parameter. To investigate the physical forces responsible for the island geometries, we develop a model for island shape that incorporates the distortion energy of graphene, adhesion of Cu with graphitic surfaces, adhesion of graphene with graphite, and other parameters. The energy parameters involving Cu surfaces and Cu-carbon interfaces are derived from DFT calculations. The values and trends predicted by the model are discussed and compared with experiment. In particular, the model indicates that the slope of the island sides should be invariant, consistent with experiment.

The recent emergence of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDs) has led to a rapid burgeoning of the field due to their novel electronic and optical properties with potential electronics/photonics applications. Organic materials, on the other hand, have exhibited great success in the field of flexible electronics, with an extensive number of available molecules with tunable properties. Marrying the fields of organics and 2D TMDs will bring benefits that are not present in either material alone, enabling even better, multifunctional flexible devices. In parallel, the integration of 2D TMDs with selected organics is also a promising and controllable approach to modulate the properties of the TMDs without structural damage, thereby optimizing or even enhancing their desired properties for specific device applications. Central to the realization of all those applications is a fundamental understanding of the organic-2D TMD interface.¹

Here, we will present our recent studies on hybrid organic/2D TMD heterostructures.^2-4 With combined experiments and theoretical modeling, the interfacial interactions between the organic layers and the TMDs as well as the energy level alignment at the interface are explored. The comprehensive understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms that govern the properties of organic-2D TMD interfaces at the atomic scale is of fundamental importance for developing this technique further for device applications.

References:

1. Y. L. Huang, Y. J. Zheng, Z. Song, D. Chi, A. T. S .Wee, S. Y. Quek, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2018, DOI: 10.1039/C8CS00159F (online).

2. Z. Song, Q. Wang, M.-Y. Li, L.-J. Li, Y. J. Zheng, Z. Wang, T. Lin, D. Chi, Z. Ding, Y. L. Huang,A. T. S. Wee, Phys. Rev. B, 97, 134102, 2018.

3. Z. Song, T. Schultz, Z. Ding, B. Lei, C. Han, P. Amsalem, T. Lin, D. Chi, S. L. Wong, Y. J. Zheng, M. Y. Li, L. J. Li, W. Chen, N. Koch, Y. L. Huang and A. T. S. Wee, ACS Nano, 2017, 11, 9128-9135.

4. Y. J. Zheng, Y. L. Huang, Y. Chenp, W. Zhao, G. Eda, C. D. Spataru, W. Zhang, Y.-H. Chang, L.-J. Li, D. Chi, S. Y. Quek and A. T. S. Wee, ACS Nano, 2016, 10, 2476-2484.

Growth of heterogeneous catalysts, plasmonic and other nanostructured materials requires atomic level control and molecular level understanding of the growth of metals and metal oxides on surfaces. Surface functionalization of 2D materials can be used to promote selective nucleation of metal oxides with control over the deposition and growth. However, this requires an understanding of surface functionalization. This surface chemical functionalization can be combined with the atomic-level control of atomic layer deposition (ALD). ALD is a vapor deposition technique that utilizes self-limiting surface reactions to grow metal oxides, where the surface functional group initiates the first step in the deposition process.

2D materials are ideal for selective functionalization that may not require lithography steps due to the fact that their sheets are in a stable configuration making them chemically unreactive. Highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) is an ideal model of the graphene surface, a well-known 2D material, which is comprised of sp² hybridized aromatic hydrocarbon sheets. HOPG consists of stacked graphene sheets where the terraces of the carbon sheets are chemically unreactive in ambient conditions and their defects are highly reactive. Oxidation methods are used to produce an assortment of different functional groups on HOPG and can lead to different types of functionalities on the surface and its defects.

We investigate how surface oxidative etching and functionalization influences the growth of metal oxide structures at tailored defects and functional sites on HOPG. Two different acids were used to etch the HOPG surface to produce functional groups resulting in different surface topographies. The functionalized HOPG was then exposed to trimethylaluminum and water, a well-known ALD reaction, to produce Al₂O₃ as a proof-of-concept to observe the growth of Al₂O₃ on both functional and defect sites. Vibrational spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to measure surface functionalization and Al₂O₃ growth on HOPG. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectral imaging were used to image the changes in surface topography after etching and ALD deposition. Results indicate that the Al₂O₃ deposition and growth is dictated by the surface functionalization and topography. This suggests that understanding the effects of surface functionalization of 2D materials is necessary for controlling the growth of metal oxide structures.

This work was supported by National Science Foundation, Grant #NSF CHE-1465105"

Advances in optical characterization techniques for 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (2D-TMDs) such as MoS2 are essential in the context of tailoring the texture and surface functionalization of these materials. Tailoring of the texture of synthesized MoS2 results in uniquely different material characteristics: out-of-plane fins of MoS2 have been demonstrated to possess excellent catalytic performance, most likely due to exposed catalytically active edge sites, whereas basal plane oriented MoS2 shows excellent electronic properties. The large impact of texture on the exhibited properties underlines the need for rapid and facile characterization of the texture and especially the angular grain orientation. So far, cross section high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) is widely employed to obtain insight into texture but it suffers from a limited throughput. On the other hand, Raman spectroscopy has been established as the go-to technique for the determination of e.g. film thickness of these TMDs. Here we will show that the angular grain distribution can also be determined using polarized Raman spectroscopy