One-step sputtering of MoSSe metastable phase as thin film and predicted thermodynamic stability by computational methods.

We present the fabrication of a MoS2-xSex thin film from a co-sputtering process using MoS2 and MoSe2 commercial targets with 99.9% purity. The sputtering of the MoS2 and MoSe2 was carried out using a straight and low-cost magnetron radio frequency sputtering recipe to achieve a MoS2-xSex phase with x = 1 and sharp interface formation as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy. The sulfur and selenium atoms prefer to distribute randomly at the octahedral geometry of molybdenum inside the MoS2-xSex thin film, indicated by a blue shift in the A1g and E1g vibrational modes at 355 cm-1 and 255 cm-1, respectively. This work is complemented by computing the thermodynamic stability of a MoS2-xSex phase whereby density functional theory up to a maximum selenium concentration of 33.33 at.% in both a Janus-like and random distribution. Although the Janus-like and the random structures are in the same metastable state, the Janus-like structure is hindered by an energy barrier below selenium concentrations of 8 at.%. This research highlights the potential of transition metal dichalcogenides in mixed phases and the need for further exploration employing low-energy, large-scale methods to improve the materials' fabrication and target latent applications of such structures.

Combined Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies of a NanoBud structure.

We succeeded in providing for the first time the evidence of the NanoBud structure (fullerenes attached to the surface of SWCNT) by Raman spectroscopy in combination with TEM. This work was performed on the individual freestanding NanoBud structure. The Raman features corresponding to the typical vibrational modes of fullerenes were observed in the range of 1440-1480 cm(-1). The simultaneous presence of SWCNT and fullerene features in the Raman spectrum is in good agreement with the TEM and ED investigations on the same NanoBud structure, which confirmed the Raman measurement interpretation of the SWCNT chirality assignment (16,11) and the presence of fullerenes on the surface of the SWCNT.