Influence of Substrate\nDefects on the Electronic Properties\nof the WS<sub>2</sub> Monolayer/Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite\nHeterostructure

This study investigates the influence of local defects\nintroduced\nin highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) substrates on the electronic\nproperties of two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs).\nUtilizing a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)\nand angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we studied\nthe changes in energy level alignment and interface charge transfer\nphenomena at the HOPG/WS<sub>2</sub> interface. While XPS did not\ndetect significant spectral changes for defect densities up to ∼7%,\nARPES line shape analysis revealed that the increased defect density\nin the HOPG interfacing the WS<sub>2</sub> monolayer significantly\nshortened carrier lifetimes. This provides crucial guidance for the\nstudy and optimization of devices wherein TMDs are interfaced with\na HOPG or graphene.