Selective Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth of WS₂/MoS₂ Vertical and Lateral Heterostructures on Gold Foils

Abstract

Vertical and lateral heterostructures consisting of atomically layered two-dimensional (2D) materials exhibit intriguing properties, such as efficient charge/energy transfer, high photoresponsivity, and enhanced photocatalytic activities. However, the controlled fabrication of vertical or lateral heterojunctions on metal substrates remains challenging. Herein, we report a facile and controllable method for selective growth of WS2/MoS2 vertical or lateral heterojunctions on polycrystalline gold (Au) foil by tuning the gas flow rate of hydrogen (H2). We find that lateral growth is favored without H2, whereas vertical growth mode can be switched on by introducing 8–10 sccm H2. In addition, the areal coverage of the WS2/MoS2 vertical heterostructures is tunable in the range of 12–25%. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) results demonstrate the quality and absence of cross-contamination of the as-grown heterostructures. Furthermore, we investigate the effects of the H2 flow rate on the morphology of the heterostructures. These pave the way to develop unprecedented 2D heterostructures towards applications in (opto)electronic devices.

Keywords

• chemical vapor deposition
• 2D materials
• heterostructures
• selective growth