NaCl-Assisted Substrate Dependent 2D Planar Nucleated Growth of MoS2

Abstract Synthesis of large-scale, uniform, easily transferable, and highly crystalline monolayer (1L) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) on different substrates is a challenge and could decide its suitability for opto-electronic device applications. Herein, we report a facile NaCl-assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) synthesis of high-quality MoS2 on amorphous, crystalline and layered substrates. Optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy show that sapphire and SiO2/Si are suitable substrates for large 1L-MoS2 flakes growth, while mica is excellent for large-area continuous films. Comparatively lesser full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of predominant A exciton peak (which is associated with direct band gap at K point) in photoluminescence spectra of 1L-MoS2 on sapphire suggests its high crystalline quality. However, 1L-MoS2 on other substrates, especially on quartz and bare Si show poor crystalline quality. The study depicts that the NaCl assists in the formation of seeding promoter such as water-soluble layer of Na2S and/or Na2SO4 on the substrate that helps in 2D planar nucleation of MoS2. The formation of such intermediate seeding layers also helps in layer transfer owing to its easy water solubility. The study could be utilized for large-scale synthesis of 1L-MoS2 on different substrates for high-performance optoelectronic devices.