Materials scientists at Rice University are shedding light on the intricate growth processes of 2D crystals, laying the groundwork for the precise synthesis of these materials with unparalleled accuracy.
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Two-dimensional materials with unique properties, including graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), have a lot of potential for use in biomedicine, electronics, sensors, energy storage, and other fields.
However, the intricate growth mechanisms of these crystals pose a significant challenge for researchers due to inconsistent correlations between growth conditions and crystal shapes.
The George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University’s research team has managed to find a solution to this by creating a specially designed miniature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus that could track and record the development of 2D MoS2 crystals in real-time. The study has recently been published in the journal Nano Letters.
By employing advanced image processing and machine learning algorithms, the researchers extracted valuable insights from real-time footage. This enabled them to predict the conditions required for growing very large, single-layer MoS2 crystals accurately.
This multidisciplinary strategy, according to study co-author Jun Lou, professor and associate chair of Rice University’s Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, marks a major advancement in the field of scalable synthesis of 2D materials.
By combining real-time experimental observations with cutting-edge machine learning techniques, we have demonstrated the potential to predict and control the growth of 2D crystals with excellent accuracy.
Jun Lou, Study Co-Author and Associate Chair, Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, Rice University
The team has concluded that this finding will have a significant impact on 2D materials in the future. Motivated by their accomplishments with MoS2, the researchers think that their methodology can also be applied to other heterostructures and 2D materials, providing a strong foundation for the development of next-generation 2D materials with customized characteristics.
Lou added, “For example, in electronics, being able to robustly synthesize 2D crystals like MoS2 at scale could lead to faster and more efficient devices. In sensors, it could lead to more sensitive and selective devices.”
“This research is an important step toward realizing the full potential of 2D materials and paves the way for the development of innovative technologies that could revolutionize a wide range of industries,” added Ming Tang, associate professor of materials science and nanoengineering and study co-author.
Jing Zhang, Tianshu Zhai, Faizal Arifurrahman, Yuguo Wang, Andrew Hitt, Zelai He, Qing Ai, Yifeng Liu, Chen-Yang Lin, and Yifan Zhu from Rice's Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering are also involved in the study.
The study was funded by the Welch Foundation (C-1716), the National Science Foundation (2113882, 1929949), the Fulbright Scholar Program, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-21-1-0460), and the Department of Energy (SC0019111).
Journal Reference:
Zhang, J., et. al. (2024) Toward Controlled Synthesis of 2D Crystals by CVD: Learning from the Real-Time Crystal Morphology Evolutions. Nano Letters. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c04016
Source: https://www.rice.edu/