Chemical Vapor Deposition of Two-Dimensional Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) has emerged as a premier technique for the synthesis of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), including MoS₂, WS₂ and WSe₂. By introducing volatile metal-oxide and chalcogen precursors into a heated reactor, monolayer and few-layer films grow via surface nucleation and lateral domain expansion. Control of parameters such as temperature profile, carrier-gas composition and substrate choice enables tailoring of film uniformity, crystal phase and defect density. Unlike mechanical exfoliation, CVD offers wafer-scale coverage and compatibility with device fabrication, opening pathways to flexible electronics, optoelectronics and sensor platforms. Advances in understanding precursor reduction kinetics, interfacial interactions and post-growth treatments have significantly improved optical quality and electronic performance, while novel substrates such as Au foils have facilitated transfer to arbitrary surfaces. Ongoing efforts focus on minimising unintentional doping and structural disorder, and on developing heterostructures via sequential or co-deposition approaches, thereby unlocking the full potential of 2D TMDCs for next-generation technologies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Studies of WS₂ monolayer growth have demonstrated that introducing hydrogen into an argon carrier stream substantially enhances precursor reduction, yielding continuous films with millimetre-scale coverage and sharp photoluminescence peaks. Self-limited catalytic growth on gold substrates has enabled uniform monolayer domains of millimetre size under ambient pressure, with facile electrochemical transfer preserving film integrity. Investigations of hydrogen-to-argon ratios during CVD have elucidated the balance between efficient WO₃ reduction and substrate etching, revealing that precise gas composition governs domain morphology and crystallographic orientation. These foundational works have set benchmarks for film quality, optical emission linewidth and scalability, forming a platform for heterostructure assembly and device integration.

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Two-Dimensional Transition Metal Dichalcogenides publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in chemical vapor deposition of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Chemical vapour deposition (CVD): A method for growing solid films from gaseous precursors via chemical reactions at elevated temperature.

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC): A class of layered compounds with formula MX₂, where M is a transition metal and X is a chalcogen, exhibiting diverse electronic and optical properties.

Monolayer: A two-dimensional crystal sheet one atom or one molecular layer thick, typically displaying properties distinct from the bulk counterpart.

van der Waals epitaxy: The growth of crystalline layers on substrates without the requirement of lattice matching, relying on weak interlayer forces.

Precursor: A volatile compound introduced into the reactor that decomposes or reacts to supply elemental species for film formation.

References

1. Large-area synthesis of high-quality and uniform monolayer WS2 on reusable Au foils. Nature Communications (2015).
2. The growth scale and kinetics of WS2 monolayers under varying H2 concentration. Scientific Reports (2015).
3. Engineering the Electrical and Optical Properties of WS2 Monolayers via Defect Control. Advanced Science (2023).
4. Addressing the effects of gas adsorption on monolayers beyond charge population analysis: the case of WS2. npj Computational Materials (2024).
5. Understanding the impact of heavy ions and tailoring the optical properties of large-area monolayer WS2 using focused ion beam. npj 2D Materials and Applications (2023).