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Salt-assisted chemical vapor deposition of two-dimensional materials

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Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with atomic thickness are promising candidates for the applications in future semiconductor devices, owing to their fascinating physical properties and superlative optoelectronic performance. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is considered to be an efficiënt method for large-scale preparation of 2D materials toward practical applications. However, the high melting points of metal precursors and the thermodynamics instabilities of metastable phases limit the direct CVD synthesis of plenty of 2D materials. The salt has recently been introduced into the CVD process, which proved to be effective to address these issues. In this review, we highlighted the latest progress in the salt-assisted CVD growth of 2D materials, including layered and non-layered crystals. Firstly, strategies of adding salts are summarized. Then, the salt-assisted growth of various layered materials is presented, emphasizing on the transition metal chalcogenides of stable and metastable phases. Furthermore, strategies to grow ultrathin non-layered materials are discussed. We provide viewpoints into the techniques of using salt, the effects of salt, and the growth mechanisms of 2D crystals. Finally, we offer the challenges to be overcome and further research directions of this emerging salt-assisted CVD technique.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21825103, 51727809), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University (2019kfyXMBZ018), and the project funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M642832). The authors are indebted for the kind permission from the corresponding publishers/authors to reproduce their materials, especially figures, used in this article.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die and Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Wei Han, Kailang Liu, Sanjun Yang, Fakun Wang, Jianwei Su, Bao Jin, Huiqiao Li & Tianyou Zhai

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  1. Wei Han
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  2. Kailang Liu
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Han, W., Liu, K., Yang, S. et al. Salt-assisted chemical vapor deposition of two-dimensional materials. Sci. China Chem. 62, 1300–1311 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-019-9525-y

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