Interface-Driven Assembly of Pentacene/MoS 2 Lateral Heterostructures.

Mixed-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures formed by molecular assemblies and 2D materials provide a novel platform for fundamental nanoscience and future nanoelectronics applications. Here we investigate a prototypical hybrid heterostructure between pentacene molecules and 2D MoS ₂ nanocrystals, deposited on Au(111) by combining pulsed laser deposition and organic molecular beam epitaxy. The obtained structures were investigated in situ by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy and analyzed theoretically by density functional theory calculations. Our results show the formation of atomically thin pentacene/MoS ₂ lateral heterostructures on the Au substrate. The most stable pentacene adsorption site corresponds to MoS ₂ terminations, where the molecules self-assemble parallel to the direction of MoS ₂ edges. The density of states changes sharply across the pentacene/MoS ₂ interface, indicating a weak interfacial coupling, which leaves the electronic signature of MoS ₂ edge states unaltered. This work unveils the self-organization of abrupt mixed-dimensional lateral heterostructures, opening to hybrid devices based on organic/inorganic one-dimensional junctions.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.
(© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)