Kirkendall Voids in Monolayer Mo <sub> <i>x</i> </sub> Ta <sub> <i>y</i> </sub> S <sub>2</sub> Alloys on Au(111)
During the growth of monolayer MoS<sub>2</sub>-TaS<sub>2</sub> heterostructures, we observe the Kirkendall effect, a phenomenon not previously reported in systems with reduced dimensionality. The lateral heterostructures were prepared by reactive molecular beam epitaxy on chemically inert and weakly interacting Au(111). Enclosing MoS<sub>2</sub> islands in TaS<sub>2</sub> by exposing them to a sulfur-rich environment at elevated temperatures facilitates diffusion at the interface. The resulting heterostructures exhibit characteristic 2D Kirkendall voids surrounded by a Mo<sub><i>x</i></sub>Ta<sub><i>y</i></sub>S<sub>2</sub> alloy region. These findings reveal defect-mediated processes in low-dimensional systems and open new avenues for designing 2D lateral heterostructures with intricate morphologies.
Authors
- Catherine Grover
- Thaís Chagas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5688-5985)
- Kai Mehlich
- Francis Huw Davies (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0786-2773)
- Carsten Busse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5522-0578)
- Alessia Bardazzi
- Arkady V. Krasheninnikov
Institutions
- University of Siegen (DE)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Folkwang University of the Arts (DE)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
- Published
- 2025-12-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.5c03031
- Primary Topic
- 2D Materials and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00