Unusual flat and extended morphology of intercalated Cu under MoS2

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method for intercalating metals under layered materials, specifically MoS2, revealing a unique extended Cu morphology distinct from graphite intercalation, with detailed structural and spectroscopic analysis.

Contribution

The study extends a defect-controlled intercalation method to MoS2, demonstrating a novel extended Cu morphology and contrasting it with graphite intercalation behaviors.

Findings

Cu forms a uniform intercalated 'carpet' under MoS2

Intercalation under graphite results in separated islands

Different intercalation mechanisms for MoS2 and graphite

Abstract

A general method was developed to intercalate metals under layered materials through a controlled density of sputtered defects. The method has been already applied to study a range of metals intercalated under graphite and different types of morphologies were realized. In the current work, we extend the method to the study of intercalation under MoS2 noting that work on this system is rather limited. We use Cu as the prototype metal for comparison with Cu intercalation under graphite. Although the growth conditions needed for intercalation under graphite and MoS2 are similar, the type of intercalated phases is very different. Each Cu island which nucleates on top of MoS2 during Cu deposition provides material that is transferred below MoS2, through sputtered defects under the island base; this transfer results in a uniform intercalated Cu "carpet" morphology that extends over the mesoscale. On the contrary, Cu intercalation under graphite results in well separated, compact islands formed by monomer detachment from small Cu islands on top and transfer below through defects far from the islands. The structural techniques (scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy) and spectroscopic techniques (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy) are used for the characterization of the intercalated Cu layer.