In-situ TEM unveils the secrets of two-dimensional material nucleation

Lei Liu; Xiaotian Zhang; Taotao Li; Xinran Wang

doi:10.1088/1674-4926/26030003

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In-situ TEM unveils the secrets of two-dimensional material nucleation

Lei Liu^{1, §}, Xiaotian Zhang^{1, §}, Taotao Li^{1, 2, 3,} and Xinran Wang^{1, 2, 3, 4,}

+ Author Affiliations

1. Suzhou Laboratory, Suzhou 215123, ChinaSuzhou Laboratory, Suzhou 215123, China
2. School of Integrated Circuits, Nanjing University, Suzhou 215163, China
3. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Future Intelligent Chips (Chip-X), Nanjing University, Suzhou 215163, China
4. National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
^§Lei Liu and Xiaotian Zhang contributed equally to this work and should be considered as co-first authors.

Author Bio:

Lei Liu received her Ph.D. degree from the School of Electronic Science and Engineering at Nanjing University. Then, she worked at Suzhou Laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Professor Xinran Wang. Her research interests relate to the large-scale synthesis of two-dimensional semiconductors.

Xiaotian Zhang received his Ph.D. degree from the Materials Science and Engineering department at the Pennsylvania State University, USA, under the supervision of Professor Joan M. Redwing. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Advanced Light Source of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA. He is currently a full professor at Suzhou Laboratory in China. He has expertise in the scalable growth of two-dimensional chalcogenide films via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, and his current research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of emerging functionalized two-dimensional thin films.

Taotao Li is an Associate Professor at the School of Integrated Circuits, Nanjing University (NJU). He earned his Ph.D. from NJU in 2021, following research experiences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS, 2012–2016) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU, 2016–2017). His research focuses on the epitaxy, characterization, and applications of 2D semiconductors. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed papers, accumulating more than 4,500 citations.

Xinran Wang received his Ph.D. degree from Stanford University, USA. He is currently a professor at the School of Integrated Circuits and the School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, and also leads a research division at the Suzhou Laboratory. His research focuses on next-generation information materials, devices, and integrated circuits.

Corresponding author: Taotao Li, ttli@nju.edu.cn; Xinran Wang, xrwang@nju.edu.cn/wangxr@szlab.ac.cn

DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/26030003CSTR: 32376.14.1674-4926.26030003

References

[1]	Qiu H, Yu Z H, Zhao T G, et al. Two-dimensional materials for future information technology: status and prospects. Sci China Inf Sci, 2024, 67(6): 160400 doi: 10.1007/s11432-024-4033-8
[2]	Zeng S F, Liu C S, Zhou P. Transistor engineering based on 2D materials in the post-silicon era. Nat Rev Electr Eng, 2024, 1(5): 335 doi: 10.1038/s44287-024-00045-6
[3]	Li T T, Guo W, Ma L, et al. Epitaxial growth of wafer-scale molybdenum disulfide semiconductor single crystals on sapphire. Nat Nanotechnol, 2021, 16(11): 1201 doi: 10.1038/s41565-021-00963-8
[4]	Fu J H, Min J C, Chang C K, et al. Oriented lateral growth of two-dimensional materials on c-plane sapphire. Nat Nanotechnol, 2023, 18(11): 1289 doi: 10.1038/s41565-023-01445-9
[5]	Jiang H, Zhang X K, Chen K L, et al. Two-dimensional czochralski growth of single-crystal MoS₂. Nat Mater, 2025, 24(2): 188 doi: 10.1038/s41563-024-02069-7
[6]	Zhu X K, Wang H G, Wang K K, et al. Progress on the in situ imaging of growth dynamics of two-dimensional materials. Nanoscale, 2023, 15(28): 11746 doi: 10.1039/D3NR01475D
[7]	Fei L F, Lei S J, Zhang W B, et al. Direct TEM observations of growth mechanisms of two-dimensional MoS₂ flakes. Nat Commun, 2016, 7: 12206 doi: 10.1038/ncomms12206
[8]	Xue H, Wu G Z, Zhao B J, et al. High-temperature in situ investigation of chemical vapor deposition to reveal growth mechanisms of monolayer molybdenum disulfide. ACS Appl Electron Mater, 2020, 2(7): 1925 doi: 10.1021/acsaelm.0c00231
[9]	Luo C, Wang C L, Wu X, et al. In situ transmission electron microscopy characterization and manipulation of two-dimensional layered materials beyond graphene. Small, 2017, 13(35): 1604259 doi: 10.1002/smll.201604259
[10]	Ye H Y, Wu C T, Cao D Y, et al. Atomically resolved two-dimensional amorphous nuclei formed during MoS₂ chemical vapor deposition. Science, 2026, 391(6785): 622 doi: 10.1126/science.adz8243

Fig. 1. (Color online) (a) Schematic illustration of the in-situ CVD micro chamber based on a heating holder with a MEMS heating chip. (b) Sequential high-resolution TEM images capturing the nucleation process of MoS₂. (c) Size evolution of the three clusters extracted from in-situ HRTEM observations during the nucleation and growth stages. (d) Reaction time -dependent relative crystallinity of structure at different stage, unraveling the initial nucleation and growth behavior^[10].

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[1]	Qiu H, Yu Z H, Zhao T G, et al. Two-dimensional materials for future information technology: status and prospects. Sci China Inf Sci, 2024, 67(6): 160400 doi: 10.1007/s11432-024-4033-8
[2]	Zeng S F, Liu C S, Zhou P. Transistor engineering based on 2D materials in the post-silicon era. Nat Rev Electr Eng, 2024, 1(5): 335 doi: 10.1038/s44287-024-00045-6
[3]	Li T T, Guo W, Ma L, et al. Epitaxial growth of wafer-scale molybdenum disulfide semiconductor single crystals on sapphire. Nat Nanotechnol, 2021, 16(11): 1201 doi: 10.1038/s41565-021-00963-8
[4]	Fu J H, Min J C, Chang C K, et al. Oriented lateral growth of two-dimensional materials on c-plane sapphire. Nat Nanotechnol, 2023, 18(11): 1289 doi: 10.1038/s41565-023-01445-9
[5]	Jiang H, Zhang X K, Chen K L, et al. Two-dimensional czochralski growth of single-crystal MoS₂. Nat Mater, 2025, 24(2): 188 doi: 10.1038/s41563-024-02069-7
[6]	Zhu X K, Wang H G, Wang K K, et al. Progress on the in situ imaging of growth dynamics of two-dimensional materials. Nanoscale, 2023, 15(28): 11746 doi: 10.1039/D3NR01475D
[7]	Fei L F, Lei S J, Zhang W B, et al. Direct TEM observations of growth mechanisms of two-dimensional MoS₂ flakes. Nat Commun, 2016, 7: 12206 doi: 10.1038/ncomms12206
[8]	Xue H, Wu G Z, Zhao B J, et al. High-temperature in situ investigation of chemical vapor deposition to reveal growth mechanisms of monolayer molybdenum disulfide. ACS Appl Electron Mater, 2020, 2(7): 1925 doi: 10.1021/acsaelm.0c00231
[9]	Luo C, Wang C L, Wu X, et al. In situ transmission electron microscopy characterization and manipulation of two-dimensional layered materials beyond graphene. Small, 2017, 13(35): 1604259 doi: 10.1002/smll.201604259
[10]	Ye H Y, Wu C T, Cao D Y, et al. Atomically resolved two-dimensional amorphous nuclei formed during MoS₂ chemical vapor deposition. Science, 2026, 391(6785): 622 doi: 10.1126/science.adz8243