Self-Oriented MoS2 Nanosheets on Microcrystalline Diamond Layers: Controlled Synthesis and Optoelectronic Effects

O Babcenko and M Sojková and M Hulman and J Cermák and A Kromka and VEP Claerbout and P Nicolini and D López-Carballeira and J Kulicek and B Rezek, ACS APPLIED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS, 7, 1004-1018 (2025).

DOI: 10.1021/acsaelm.4c01704

Combining diamond and two-dimensional materials is attracting increasing attention for synergic effects that have the best of both worlds. Applications range from electronics and quantum technologies to catalysis, energy conversion, and biosensors. Here, heterostructures based on hydrogenated diamond microcrystalline thin films with attached MoS2 nanosheets are formed by a single-zone annealing at atmospheric pressure. By varying the process parameters, MoS2 sheets are controllably synthesized in a vertical or horizontal orientation with respect to the diamond grain facets, which leads to a pronounced impact on the electronic and optoelectronic properties of the heterostructures. Raman, SEM, AFM, KPFM, and SKP analyses show the influence of the MoS2 orientation and thickness on the work function, surface potential, spatially and spectrally resolved photovoltage, and charge transfer kinetics. The aligned growth of MoS2 nanosheets and their properties are elucidated by molecular mechanics and time-dependent DFT calculations, which explain the mechanism of the assembly and the related optoelectronic effects in a straightforward way. The major switching point occurs precisely at 11 nm of the MoS2 thickness/length. The highest photoresponse of 350 meV and favorable charge transfer are observed for the vertical MoS2 arrangement on diamond, yet without a covalent bond. The results and theoretical model hint at broader implications beyond the MoS2-diamond system.

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