Synthesis and Atomic Engineering of Two-Dimensional Materials for Transformative Applications

Dr. Tianyi Zhang, Postdoctoral Associate, MIT

Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials have garnered considerable attention due to their unique physicochemical properties, holding promise for both fundamental research and emerging technological applications. Moreover, these materials can be tuned beyond their intrinsic properties through structural engineering and external perturbations, providing inherent versatility for tailoring 2D materials on-demand. My research focuses on innovating synthesis techniques for high-quality and scalable 2D electronic and optical materials, and controllably modulating their structures and properties at the atomic level. The ultimate goal of my work is to facilitate transformative applications in high-performance computing, integrated photonics, sensing, and quantum information science. 

In this presentation, I will start with an introduction to 2D materials and the approaches for their synthesis and characterization. Subsequently, I will highlight two recent advancements in the synthesis and atomic engineering of 2D materials with intriguing functionalities. The first segment of the presentation will introduce a highly reproducible and generalizable approach that achieves the substitutional doping of monolayer semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). I will elucidate how the edge termination of TMDs can be leveraged to control the spatial distribution of dopant atoms. In the second part, I will discuss the synthesis of Janus TMD monolayers, a unique type of artificial 2D materials without a bulk counterpart in nature, and I will emphasize our recent efforts in unraveling the role of chalcogen anion types in influencing the efficiency of Janus TMD synthesis.