Toward understanding the phase-selective growth mechanism of films and geometrically-shaped flakes of 2D MoTe2

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe₂) is an interesting material for fundamental study and applications, due to its ability to exist in different polymorphs of 2H, 1T, and 1T′, their phase change behavior, and unique electronic properties. Although much progress has been made in the growth of high-quality flakes and films of 2H and 1T′-MoTe₂ phases, phase-selective growth of all three phases remains a huge challenge, due to the lack of enough information on their growth mechanism. Herein, we present a novel approach to growing films and geometrical-shaped few-layer flakes of 2D 2H-, 1T-, and 1T′-MoTe₂ by atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) and present a thorough understanding of the phase-selective growth mechanism by employing the concept of thermodynamics and chemical kinetics involved in the growth processes. Our approach involves optimization of growth parameters and understanding using thermodynamical software, HSC Chemistry. A lattice strain-mediated mechanism has been proposed to explain the phase selective growth of 2D MoTe₂, and different chemical kinetics-guided strategies have been developed to grow MoTe₂ flakes and films.