Synthesis and Properties of Atomically-Thin Width-Controlled TMD Quantum Nanoribbons

Width confinement and effect of edge structure add new freedoms for exploring exotic properties for already rich atomically-thin materials. Unique properties have already been discovered in graphene nanoribbons with width less than 5 nm. However, for transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), the effects by width confinement and edge structure have only been predicted in theoretical calculation due to challenges in synthetic methods to obtain nanoribbons with width less than ~30 nm. We develop a synthetic strategy to directly grow TMD nanoribbons with controllable width (down to sub-10 nm) and layers (single or double layer), from the pre-deposited seed nanoparticles. Width-dependent Coulomb blockade oscillation in the electron transfer behavior in the nanoribbons suggests formation of quantum-dot-like electronic states due to width confinement. Furthermore, combination of width confinement with strain engineering through sharp bending generates highly localized states in TMD nanoribbons, which is responsible for high purity, deterministic single photon emissions. The TMD nanoribbons add a new family of materials to the reservoir for future quantum electronics and photonics. <br/><br/><b>References</b><br/>X. Li., et al. <i>ACS Nano</i><b> 14, </b>6570 (2020).<br/>X. Li., et al. <i>Sci. Adv.</i> 7 (50), eabk1892 (2021).