Structural Diversity of Single-Walled Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Nanotubes Grown via Template Reaction

Abstract

Monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are an ideal 2D platform for studying a wide variety of electronic properties and potential applications due to their chemical diversity. Similarly, single-walled TMD nanotubes (SW-TMDNTs)—seamless cylinders of rolled-up TMD monolayers—are 1D materials that can exhibit tunable electronic properties depending on both their chirality and composition. However, much less has been explored about their geometrical structures and chemical variations due to their instability under ambient conditions. Here, the structural diversity of SW-TMDNTs templated by boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) is reported. The outer surfaces and inner cavities of the BNNTs promote and stabilize the coaxial growth of SW-TMDNTs with various diameters, including few-nanometers-wide species. The chiral indices (n,m) of individual SW-MoS2NTs are assigned by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and statistical analyses reveals a broad chirality distribution ranging from zigzag to armchair configurations. Furthermore, this methodology can be applied to the synthesis of various TMDNTs, such as selenides and alloyed Mo1−xWxS2. Comprehensive microscopic and spectroscopic analyses also suggest the partial formation of Janus MoS2(1−x)Se2x nanotubes. The BNNT-templated reaction provides a universal platform to characterize the chirality-dependent properties of 1D nanotubes with various electronic structures.