Blocking of the 1T-to-2H phase transformation of chemically exfoliated transition metal disulfides by using a “lattice lock”

The last decade has witnessed the rapid increasing of research on two-dimensional (2D) transition metal disulfides (TMDs) as an attractive materials in various applications due to its superior charge carrier mobility levels, high surface-to-volume ratios, and extreme flexibility. However, its phase instability among those polymorphism, especially phase transformation from 1T phase to 2H phase, has so far been limited by a significant degradation in device performance. Here we develop, for the first time, a novel and effective way to prevent the phase transition of MS2, and thereby enhance the stability of its 1T phase characteristics. We introduce ZnO nanocrystals on 1T phase MoS2 nanosheets and investigate the effects of this ZnO decoration on the stability of the 1T phase MoS2 nanosheets. Finally, we apply this lattice-lock concept to a thermoelectric application of TMDs, where the phase transformation of 1T TMDs to 2H is a major bottleneck to providing stable TMD-based thermoelectric devices.