Large-Scale Fabrication of MoS2 Ribbons and Their Light-Induced Electronic/Thermal Properties: Dichotomies in the Structural and Defect Engineering

Controlled design and patterning of layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) into specific dimensions and geometries hold great potential for next-generation micro/nanoscale electronic applications. Herein, the large-scale fabrication of MoS2 ribbons with widths ranging from micro-to nanoscale is reported. Their unique electric and thermal properties introduced by the shape change and defect creation are also demonstrated, with particular focus on the performance associated with light-matter interactions. The theoretical calculation indicates significantly increased absorption and scattering efficiency of the MoS2 ribbons with decreasing width. As a result, enhanced photocarrier generation ability is detected on their phototransistors with defect-modulated light-response behavior. The light-induced thermal transport properties of the MoS2 ribbons are further studied. A decreased thermal conductivity is observed on narrower ribbons, attributed to the defects created during fabrication. It is also found that the effect of phonon scattering at ribbon edges on their thermal conductivity is insignificant, and the thermal transport has no obvious dependence on the ribbon direction at such width scale. This study evaluates the prospects for designing and fabricating TMD semiconductors with specific geometries for future optoelectronic applications.