Atomic Structure of Intrinsic and Electron-Irradiation-Induced Defects in MoTe₂.

ABSTRACT: Studying the atomic structure of intrinsic defects in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides is difficult since they damage quickly under the intense electron irradiation in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). However, this can also lead to insights into the creation of defects and their atom-scale dynamics. We first show that MoTe₂ monolayers without protection indeed quickly degrade during scanning TEM (STEM) imaging, and discuss the observed atomic-level dynamics, including a transformation from the 1H phase into 1T', 3-fold rotationally symmetric defects, and the migration of line defects between two 1H grains with a 60° misorientation. We then analyze the atomic structure of MoTe₂ encapsulated between two graphene sheets to mitigate damage, finding

SUBMITTER: Elibol K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5830698 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature