Twist angle dependent electronic properties of exfoliated single layer MoS$_2$ on Au(111)

TL;DR

This study investigates how the electronic properties of single-layer MoS$_2$ on Au(111) are affected by twist angle, revealing that hybridization and electronic modulation can be tuned through twist angle engineering.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of twist angle-dependent electronic hybridization in MoS$_2$-on-gold heterostructures using STM and spectroscopy, highlighting the tunability of their electronic states.

Findings

Electronic properties are modulated by the moiré pattern.

Hybridization weakens and becomes more homogeneous with increasing twist angle.

Tunable hybridization of electronic states via twist angle control.

Abstract

Synthetic materials and heterostructures obtained by the controlled stacking of exfoliated monolayers are emerging as attractive functional materials owing to their highly tunable properties. We present a detailed scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy study of single layer MoS$_2$-on-gold heterostructures as a function of twist angle. We find that their electronic properties are determined by the hybridization of the constituent layers and are modulated at the moir\'e period. The hybridization depends on the layer alignment and the modulation amplitude vanishes with increasing twist angle. We explain our observations in terms of a hybridization between the nearest sulfur and gold atoms, which becomes spatially more homogeneous and weaker as the moir\'e periodicity decreases with increasing twist angle, unveiling the possibility of tunable hybridization of electronic states via twist angle engineering.