In material science, layered materials are solids with highly anisotropic bonding, in which two-dimensional sheets are internally strongly bonded, but only weakly bonded to adjacent layers. [1] Owing to their distinctive structures, layered materials are often suitable for intercalation reactions. [2] [3]
One large family of layered materials are metal dichalcogenides. In such materials, the M-chalcogen bonding is strong and covalent. These materials exhibit anisotropic electronic properties such as thermal and electrical conductivity.
Because the layers bond to each other by relatively weak van der Waals forces, some layered materials are amenable to exfoliation, the complete separation of the layers of the material. Exfoliation can be done using sonication, mechanical, hydrothermal, electrochemical, laser-assisted, and microwave-assisted methods. [4]
Typically aggressive conditions are required involving highly polar solvents and reagents. [5] In the ideal case, exfoliation affords single-layer materials, such as graphene.
Molybdenum disulfide is an inorganic compound composed of molybdenum and sulfur. Its chemical formula is MoS
2.
In chemistry, intercalation is the reversible inclusion or insertion of a molecule into layered materials with layered structures. Examples are found in graphite and transition metal dichalcogenides.
Molybdenum trioxide is chemical compound with the formula MoO3. This compound is produced on the largest scale of any molybdenum compound. It is an intermediate in the production of molybdenum metal. It is also an important industrial catalyst. Molybdenum trioxide occurs as the rare mineral molybdite.
A chalcogenide is a chemical compound consisting of at least one chalcogen anion and at least one more electropositive element. Although all group 16 elements of the periodic table are defined as chalcogens, the term chalcogenide is more commonly reserved for sulfides, selenides, tellurides, and polonides, rather than oxides. Many metal ores exist as chalcogenides. Photoconductive chalcogenide glasses are used in xerography. Some pigments and catalysts are also based on chalcogenides. The metal dichalcogenide MoS2 is a common solid lubricant.
In materials science, polymorphism describes the existence of a solid material in more than one form or crystal structure. Polymorphism is a form of isomerism. Any crystalline material can exhibit the phenomenon. Allotropy refers to polymorphism for chemical elements. Polymorphism is of practical relevance to pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, pigments, dyestuffs, foods, and explosives. According to IUPAC, a polymorphic transition is "A reversible transition of a solid crystalline phase at a certain temperature and pressure to another phase of the same chemical composition with a different crystal structure." Materials with two polymorphs are called dimorphic, with three polymorphs, trimorphic, etc.
Tungsten disulfide is an inorganic chemical compound composed of tungsten and sulfur with the chemical formula WS2. This compound is part of the group of materials called the transition metal dichalcogenides. It occurs naturally as the rare mineral tungstenite. This material is a component of certain catalysts used for hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrification.
Tungsten(IV) oxide is the chemical compound with the formula WO2. The bronze-colored solid crystallizes in a monoclinic cell. The rutile-like structure features distorted octahedral WO6 centers with alternate short W–W bonds (248 pm). Each tungsten center has the d2 configuration, which gives the material a high electrical conductivity.
Tantalum(IV) sulfide is an inorganic compound with the formula TaS2. It is a layered compound with three-coordinate sulfide centres and trigonal prismatic or octahedral metal centres. It is structurally similar to molybdenum disulfide MoS2, and numerous other transition metal dichalcogenide materials. The 1T-TaS2 polytype exhibits some unusual properties. In common with many other transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) compounds, which are metallic at high temperatures, it exhibits a series of charge-density-wave (CDW) phase transitions at low temperatures. It is unusual amongst them in showing a low-temperature insulating state, which is believed to arise from electron correlations, similar to many oxides. The insulating state is commonly attributed to a Mott state. It is also superconducting under pressure or upon doping, with a familiar dome-like phase diagram as a function of dopant, or substituted isovalent element concentration. 1T-TaS2 is unique, not only amongst TMDs but also amongst 'quantum materials', in showing a metastable metallic state at low temperatures. Switching from the insulating to the metallic state can be achieved either optically or by the application of electrical pulses. The metallic state is persistent at low temperatures (below ~20K), but its lifetime can be tuned by changing the temperature. The metastable state lifetime can also be tuned by strain. The switching properties may be used for low-temperature energy-efficient memory devices. Because of the frustrated triangular arrangement of localized electrons, the material is suspected to behave as a quantum spin liquid. It has been the subject of numerous studies as a host for intercalation of electron donors. The electrically-induced switching between states is of current of interest, because it can be used for ultrafast energy-efficient memory devices.
Tantalum(V) bromide is the inorganic compound with the formula Taa2Br10. Its name comes from the compound's empirical formula, TaBr5. It is a diamagnetic, orange solid that hydrolyses readily. The compound adopts an edge-shared bioctahedral structure, which means that two TaBr5 units are joined by a pair of bromide bridges. There is no bond between the Ta centres. Niobium(V) chloride, niobium(V) bromide, niobium(V) iodide, tantalum(V) chloride, and tantalum(V) iodide all share this structural motif.
A tube furnace is an electric heating device used to conduct syntheses and purifications of inorganic compounds and occasionally in organic synthesis. One possible design consists of a cylindrical cavity surrounded by heating coils that are embedded in a thermally insulating matrix. Temperature can be controlled via feedback from a thermocouple. More elaborate tube furnaces have two (or more) heating zones useful for transport experiments. Some digital temperature controllers provide an RS-232 interface, and permit the operator to program segments for uses like ramping, soaking, sintering, and more. Advanced materials in the heating elements, such as molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2) offered in certain models can now produce working temperatures up to 1800 °C. This facilitates more sophisticated applications. Common material for the reaction tubes include alumina, Pyrex, and fused quartz, or in the case of corrosive materials molybdenum or tungsten tubes can be used.
Niobium pentoxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Nb2O5. A colorless, insoluble, and fairly unreactive solid, it is the most widespread precursor for other compounds and materials containing niobium. It is predominantly used in alloying, with other specialized applications in capacitors, optical glasses, and the production of lithium niobate.
Metal amides (systematic name metal azanides) are a class of coordination compounds composed of a metal center with amide ligands of the form NR2−. Amide ligands have two electron pairs available for bonding. In principle, they can be terminal or bridging. In these two examples, the dimethylamido ligands are both bridging and terminal:
Titanium disulfide is an inorganic compound with the formula TiS2. A golden yellow solid with high electrical conductivity, it belongs to a group of compounds called transition metal dichalcogenides, which consist of the stoichiometry ME2. TiS2 has been employed as a cathode material in rechargeable batteries.
Titanium diselenide (TiSe2) also known as titanium(IV) selenide, is an inorganic compound of titanium and selenium. In this material selenium is viewed as selenide (Se2−) which requires that titanium exists as Ti4+. Titanium diselenide is a member of metal dichalcogenides, compounds that consist of a metal and an element of the chalcogen column within the periodic table. Many exhibit properties of potential value in battery technology, such as intercalation and electrical conductivity, although most applications focus on the less toxic and lighter disulfides, e.g. TiS2.
Molybdenum diselenide is an inorganic compound of molybdenum and selenium. Its structure is similar to that of MoS
2. Compounds of this category are known as transition metal dichalcogenides, abbreviated TMDCs. These compounds, as the name suggests, are made up of a transition metals and elements of group 16 on the periodic table of the elements. Compared to MoS
2, MoSe
2 exhibits higher electrical conductivity.
Tungsten diselenide is an inorganic compound with the formula WSe2. The compound adopts a hexagonal crystalline structure similar to molybdenum disulfide. Every tungsten atom is covalently bonded to six selenium ligands in a trigonal prismatic coordination sphere while each selenium is bonded to three tungsten atoms in a pyramidal geometry. The tungsten–selenium bond has a length of 0.2526 nm, and the distance between selenium atoms is 0.334 nm. It is a well studied example of a layered material. The layers stack together via van der Waals interactions. WSe2 is a very stable semiconductor in the group-VI transition metal dichalcogenides.
Transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD or TMDC) monolayers are atomically thin semiconductors of the type MX2, with M a transition-metal atom (Mo, W, etc.) and X a chalcogen atom (S, Se, or Te). One layer of M atoms is sandwiched between two layers of X atoms. They are part of the large family of so-called 2D materials, named so to emphasize their extraordinary thinness. For example, a MoS2 monolayer is only 6.5 Å thick. The key feature of these materials is the interaction of large atoms in the 2D structure as compared with first-row transition-metal dichalcogenides, e.g., WTe2 exhibits anomalous giant magnetoresistance and superconductivity.
Niobium diselenide or niobium(IV) selenide is a layered transition metal dichalcogenide with formula NbSe2. Niobium diselenide is a lubricant, and a superconductor at temperatures below 7.2 K that exhibit a charge density wave (CDW). NbSe2 crystallizes in several related forms, and can be mechanically exfoliated into monatomic layers, similar to other transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers. Monolayer NbSe2 exhibits very different properties from the bulk material, such as of Ising superconductivity, quantum metallic state, and strong enhancement of the CDW.
Organotantalum chemistry is the chemistry of chemical compounds containing a carbon-to-tantalum chemical bond. A wide variety of compound have been reported, initially with cyclopentadienyl and CO ligands. Oxidation states vary from Ta(V) to Ta(-I).
Rhenium disulfide is an inorganic compound of rhenium and sulfur with the formula ReS2. It has a layered structure where atoms are strongly bonded within each layer. The layers are held together by weak Van der Waals bonds, and can be easily peeled off from the bulk material.