Intrinsically Patterned Two-dimensional Materials for Selective Adsorption of Molecules and Nanoclusters

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been studied extensively as monolayers, vertical or lateral heterostructures. To achieve functionalization, monolayers are often patterned using soft lithography and selectively decorated with molecules. Here, the growth of a family of 2D materials that are intrinsically patterned has been demonstrated. A monolayer of PtSe2 can be grown on a Pt substrate in the form of a triangular pattern of alternating 1T and 1H phases. Moreover, in a monolayer of CuSe grown on a Cu substrate, strain relaxation leads to periodic patterns of triangular nanopores with uniform size. Adsorption of different species at preferred pattern sites is also achieved, demonstrating that these materials can serve as templates for selective self-assembly of molecules or nanoclusters, as well as for the functionalization of the same substrate with two different species.

I thank the cooperation with S. X. Du, Y. L. Wang, H. M. Guo, J. C. Lu, Y. Shao, X. Wu, J. B. Pan, L. Gao, S. Y. Zhu, K. Qian, Y. F. Zhang, D. L. Bao, L. F. Li, Y. Q. Wang, Z. L. Liu, J. T. Sun and T. Lei from Institute of Physics, CAS; X. Lin and Y. Y. Zhang from the University of CAS; C. Liu, J. O. Wang and K. Ibrahim from Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS; D. N. Leonard from ORNL; S. T. Pantelides from Vanderbilt University.



References
1. X. Lin et al. Nature Materials 16, 717 (2017).