Controllable growth of monolayer MoS2 by chemical vapor deposition via close MoO2 precursor for electrical and optical applications.

MoO2 is used as a new source material for the growth of large area and high optical quality monolayer MoS2. However, a systematic study of the growth parameters is still missing and large-area growth of discreet single crystals is still challenging. Hereby, we report the shape evolution of monolayer growth of MoS2 and develop a methodology to achieve centimeter-scaled discrete MoS2 by adopting MoO2 as Mo source material in an atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition process. Our results indicate the growth of monolayer MoS2 could benefit from the precise control of the introduction time of sulfur and the S/MoO2 ratio in experiments. Micro-Raman and photoluminescence spectra confirm the properties of the material. E-beam lithography was utilized to make contact with the as-grown MoS2 located at the selective area. The electrical properties of MoS2 with different morphologies were compared. In the end, the persistent photoconductivity properties of monolayer MoS2 were emphasized and the underlying mechanism was proposed. These studies demonstrate a better understanding of the growth and application of MoS2-based 2D materials.