Epitaxial growth of atomically thick WSe2 nanoribbons

Abstract In this work, we reported on the synthesis of atomically thick WSe2 nanoribbons with straight edges and a maximum lateral size of 85 μm on SiO2/Si substrates via a one-step chemical vapour deposition. Optical microscope, atomic force microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were used to characterize the morphologies and chemical composition of the as-grown WSe2 nanoribbons. Photoluminescence spectra and Raman spectra indicated that the interlayer coupling may be varied with different stacking manner. A vapour–liquid–solid mechanism was proposed to rationalize the formation of WSe2 nanoribbons. Moreover, we showed that WSe2 nanoribbons could also be grown on MoSe2 flakes with the same approach, demonstrating the extendibility of this strategy. Our work provides an efficient method to obtain WSe2 nanoribbons for novel application in catalysts and electronic devices.