Probing the edge-related properties of atomically thin MoS ₂ at nanoscale

Abstract

Defects can induce drastic changes of the electronic properties of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides and influence their applications. It is still a great challenge to characterize small defects and correlate their structures with properties. Here, we show that tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) can obtain distinctly different Raman features of edge defects in atomically thin MoS ₂, which allows us to probe their unique electronic properties and identify defect types (e.g., armchair and zigzag edges) in ambient. We observed an edge-induced Raman peak (396 cm ⁻¹) activated by the double resonance Raman scattering (DRRS) process and revealed electron–phonon interaction in edges. We further visualize the edge-induced band bending region by using this DRRS peak and electronic transition region using the electron density-sensitive Raman peak at 406 cm ⁻¹. The power of TERS demonstrated in MoS ₂ can also be extended to other 2D materials, which may guide the defect engineering for desired properties.

Abstract

Probing inevitable defects in two- dimensional materials is challenging. Here, the authors tackle this issue by using tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) to obtain distinctly different Raman features of edge defects in atomically thin MoS ₂, and further probe their unique electronic properties as well as identify the armchair and zigzag edges.