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van der Waals (vdW) crystals with unparalleled electromechanical properties have been explored for transformative devices. Currently, the availability of 2D vdW crystals is rather limited in nature as they are only obtained from certain mother crystals with intrinsically possessed layered crystallinity and anisotropic molecular bonding. Recent efforts to transform conventionally non-vdW three-dimensional (3D) crystals into ultrathin 2D-like structures have seen rapid developments to explore device building blocks of unique form factors. Herein, we explore a "peel-and-stick" approach, where a nonlayered 3D platinum sulfide (PtS) crystal, traditionally known as a cooperate mineral material, is transformed into a freestanding 2D-like membrane for electromechanical applications. The ultrathin (???10 nm) 3D PtS films grown on large-area (>cm2) silicon dioxide/silicon (SiO2/Si) wafers are precisely "peeled" inside water retaining desired geometries via a capillary-force-driven surface wettability control. Subsequently, they are "sticked" on strain-engineered patterned substrates presenting prominent semiconducting properties, i.e., p-type transport with an optical band gap of ∼1.24 eV. A variety of mechanically deformable strain-invariant electronic devices have been demonstrated by this peel-and-stick method, including biaxially stretchable photodetectors and respiratory sensing face masks. This study offers new opportunities of 2D-like nonlayered semiconducting crystals for emerging mechanically reconfigurable and stretchable device technologies.

Platinum (Pt) has been considered the best catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) based-direct liquid fuel cells (DLFCs). However, its high cost and the mixed potential issue have been obstacles for commercialization. Herein, we report a new Pt-based catalyst of two-dimensionally layered platinum ditelluride (2D PtTe2) with mixed layer orientation, termed M-PtTe2. This material constitutes vertically- and horizontally aligned 2D PtTe2 layers, which synergistically boost the ORR reaction; the former promotes O-2 adsorption and electron transfer, while the latter boosts O-O bond breaking and O-H bond coupling. The M-PtTe2 synthesized on nanostructured carbon papers significantly surpasses the ORR performances of commercial Pt/C, yielding 2.4-times higher mass activity in half-cell and 2-times higher maximum power density in actual devices. Furthermore, it exhibits extremely low alcohol adsorption energies, unveiling unprecedented suitability for alcohol tolerant DLFCs. This new understanding of the role of the 2D layer orientation in ORR kinetics and thermodynamics suggests useful catalyst design principles.

Platinum ditelluride (PtTe2) is an emerging semimetallic two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) crystal with intriguing band structures and unusual topological properties. Despite much devoted efforts, scalable and controllable synthesis of large-area 2D PtTe2 with well-defined layer orientation has not been established, leaving its projected structure–property relationship largely unclarified. Herein, we report a scalable low-temperature growth of 2D PtTe2 layers on an area greater than a few square centimeters by reacting Pt thin films of controlled thickness with vaporized tellurium at 400 °C. We systematically investigated their thickness-dependent 2D layer orientation as well as its correlated electrical conductivity and surface property. We unveil that 2D PtTe2 layers undergo three distinct growth mode transitions, i.e., horizontally aligned holey layers, continuous layer-by-layer lateral growth, and horizontal-to-vertical layer transition. This growth transition is a consequence of competing thermodynamic and kinetic factors dictated by accumulating internal strain, analogous to the transition of Frank–van der Merwe (FM) to Stranski–Krastanov (SK) growth in epitaxial thin-film models. The exclusive role of the strain on dictating 2D layer orientation has been quantitatively verified by the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) strain mapping analysis. These centimeter-scale 2D PtTe2 layers exhibit layer orientation tunable metallic transports yielding the highest value of ∼1.7 × 106 S/m at a certain critical thickness, supported by a combined verification of density functional theory (DFT) and electrical measurements. Moreover, they show intrinsically high hydrophobicity manifested by the water contact angle (WCA) value up to ∼117°, which is the highest among all reported 2D TMDCs of comparable dimensions and geometries. Accordingly, this study confirms the high material quality of these emerging large-area 2D PtTe2 layers, projecting va

Recent advancements in MoS2 nanofilms have aided in the development for important water-related environmental applications. However, a MoS MoS2 nanofilm-coated sensor has yet to have been applied for heavy metal detection in water-related environmental samples. In this study, a novel vertically aligned two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 (edge exposed) nanofilm was applied for in situ lead ion (Pb2+) detection. The developed sensor showed an excellent linear relationship toward Pb2+ between 0 and 20 ppb at -0.45 V vs Ag/AgCl using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) with the improved limit of detection (LOD) of 0.3 ppb in a tap water environment. The vertically aligned 2D MoS2 sensor exhibited improved detection sensitivity (2.8 folds greater than a previous metallic [Bi] composite electrode) with lower relative standard deviation for repetitive measurements (n = 11), indicating enhanced reproducibility for Pb2+ detection. The vertically aligned 2D MoS2 layers exhibited 2.6 times higher sensitivity than horizontally aligned 2D MoS2 (basal plane exposed). Density functional theory calculations demonstrated that adsorption energy of Pb on the MoS2 side edge was much higher (4.11 eV) than those on the basal plane (0.36 and 0.07 eV). In addition, the band gap center of vertical MoS2 was found to be higher than the Pb2+ -> Pb reduction potential level and capable of reducing Pb2+. Overall, the newly developed vertically aligned 2D MoS2 sensor showed excellent performance for detecting Pb2+ in a real drinking water environment with good reliability.

Benefiting from a large density of layer edges exposed on the surface, vertically aligned two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) layers have recently harvested excellent performances in the field of electrochemical catalysis and chemical sensing. With their increasing versatility for high-temperature, demanding applications, it is vital to identify their thermally driven structural and chemical stability, as well as to clarify its underlying principle. Despite various ex situ and in situ characterizations on horizontally aligned 2D MoS2 layers, the direct in situ heating of vertically aligned 2D MoS2 layers and the real-time observation of their near-atomic-scale dynamics have never been approached, leaving their thermal stability poorly understood. Moreover, the geometrical advantage of the surface-exposed vertically aligned 2D MoS2 layers is anticipated to unveil the structural dynamics of interlayer van der Waals (vdW) gaps and its correlation with thermal energy, unattainable with 2D MoS2 layers in any other geometry. Herein, we report a comprehensive in situ heating TEM study on cleanly transferred, vertically aligned 2D MoS2 layers up to 1000 degrees C. Several striking phenomena were newly observed in the course of heating: (1) formation and propagation of voids between the domains of vertical 2D MoS2 layers with distinct grain orientations starting at similar to 875 degrees C; (2) subsequent decompositions of the 2D MoS2 layers accompanying a formation of Mo nanoparticles at similar to 950 degrees C, a temperature much lower than the melting temperature of their bulk counterpart; and (3) initiation of decomposition from the surface-exposed 2D layer vertical edge sites, congruently supported by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. These new findings will offer critical insights into better understanding the thermodynamic principle that governs the structural stability of general vdW 2D crystals as well as providing useful technological guidance for m