UChicago PME QSE Seminar: Yi Cui

When Epitaxy Meets Twist

Crystal growth confined in the van der Waals (vdW) gap of layered two-dimensional (2D) materials has enabled the synthesis of novel 2D quantum systems, including 2D solid gases, monolayer water, and 2D metals. Unlike conventional epitaxial growth on a single substrate, confined growth is governed by dual-interface interactions, mechanical confinement, and the twist angle between substrates. The interfacial structures and any related defects are therefore crucial for understanding confined growth mechanisms and emergent physical properties of these novel quantum materials, yet remain at this point little studied. Our study aims to grow 2D gold layers within a MoS2-MoS2 bilayer and explore how the bilayer’s confinement and twist angles influence the epitaxial growth and structure properties of gold within this 2D confined space. Our work reveals how interfacial interactions and twist angle influence the defects of confined materials, shows that such systems can be much more complex than originally thought, and indicates that these unexpected complexities give opportunities for further engineering/designing these materials for possible future applications.

Faculty host: Peter Maurer