Blocking of the 1T-to-2H phase transformation of chemically exfoliated transition metal disulfides by using a “lattice lock”

Abstract The last decade has witnessed the rapid increasing of research on two-dimensional (2D) transition metal disulfides (TMDs) as an attractive materials in various applications due to its superior charge carrier mobility levels, high surface-to-volume ratios, and extreme flexibility. However, its phase instability among those polymorphism, especially phase transformation from 1T phase to 2H phase, has so far been limited by a significant degradation in device performance. Here we develop, for the first time, a novel and effective way to prevent the phase transition of MS 2 , and thereby enhance the stability of its 1T phase characteristics. We introduce ZnO nanocrystals on 1T phase MoS 2 nanosheets and investigate the effects of this ZnO decoration on the stability of the 1T phase MoS 2 nanosheets. Finally, we apply this lattice-lock concept to a thermoelectric application of TMDs, where the phase transformation of 1T TMDs to 2H is a major bottleneck to providing stable TMD-based thermoelectric devices.