Tungsten diselenide is an inorganic compound with the formula WSe2.[5] The compound adopts a hexagonal crystalline structure similar to molybdenum disulfide. The tungsten atoms are 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.[6] 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.
The hexagonal (P63/mmc) polymorph 2H-WSe2 is isotypic with hexagonal MoS2. The two-dimensional lattice structure has W and Se arranged periodically in layers with hexagonal symmetry. Similar to graphite, van der Waals interactions hold the layers together; however, the 2D-layers in WSe2 are not atomically thin. The large size of the W cation renders the lattice structure of WSe2 more sensitive to changes than MoS2.[7]
In addition to the typical semiconducting hexagonal structure, a second metallic polymorph of WSe2 exists. This phase, 1T-WSe2, is based on a tetragonal symmetry with one WSe2 layer per repeating unit. The 1T-WSe2 phase is less stable and transitions to the 2H-WSe2 phase.[7][8] WSe2 can form a fullerene-like structure.
The Young's modulus varies greatly as a function of the number of layers in a flake. For a single monolayer, the reported Young's modulus is 258.6 ± 38.3 GPa.[9]
Synthesis
Heating thin films of tungsten under pressure from gaseous selenium and high temperatures (>800 K) using the sputter deposition technique leads to the films crystallizing in hexagonal structures with the correct stoichiometric ratio.[10]
W + 2 Se → WSe2
Potential applications
Atomic image of a WSe2 monolayer showing hexagonal symmetry and three-fold defects. Scale bar: 2 nm (0.5 nm in the inset).[11]
The potential applications of transition metal dichalcogenides in solar cells and photonics are often discussed.[12] Bulk WSe2 has an optical band gap of ~1.35 eV with a temperature dependence of −4.6×10−4 eV/K.[13]WSe2 photoelectrodes are stable in both acidic and basic conditions, making them potentially useful in electrochemical solar cells.[14][15][16]
The properties of WSe2 monolayers differ from those of the bulk state, as is typical for semiconductors. Mechanically exfoliated monolayers of WSe2 are transparent photovoltaic materials with LED properties.[17] The resulting solar cells pass 95 percent of the incident light, with one tenth of the remaining five percent converted into electrical power.[18][19] The material can be changed from p-type to n-type by changing the voltage of an adjacent metal electrode from positive to negative, allowing devices made from it to have tunable bandgaps.[20]
Superconductivity has been reported in twisted bilayer WSe2, with a transition temperature of 200 mK.[21]
↑ 1.01.1Agarwal, M. K.; Wani, P. A. (1979). "Growth conditions and crystal structure parameters of layer compounds in the series Mo1−xWxSe2". Materials Research Bulletin14 (6): 825–830. doi:10.1016/0025-5408(79)90144-2.
↑Yun, Won Seok; Han, S. W.; Hong, Soon Cheol; Kim, In Gee; Lee, J. D. (2012). "Thickness and strain effects on electronic structures of transition metal dichalcogenides: 2H-MX2 semiconductors (M = Mo, W; X = S, Se, Te)". Physical Review B85 (3). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.85.033305. Bibcode: 2012PhRvB..85c3305Y.
↑O'Hare, P.A.G.; Lewis, Brett M.; parkinson, B.A. (June 1988). "Standard molar enthalpy of formation by fluorine-combustion calorimetry of tungsten diselenide (WSe2). Thermodynamics of the high-temperature vaporization of WSe2. Revised value of the standard molar enthalpy of formation of molybdenite (MoS2)" (in en). The Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics20 (6): 681–691. doi:10.1016/0021-9614(88)90019-5.
↑Holleman, Arnold Frederik; Wiberg, Egon (2001), Wiberg, Nils, ed., Inorganic Chemistry, San Diego/Berlin: Academic Press/De Gruyter, ISBN0-12-352651-5
↑Upadhyayula, L.C.; Loferski, J.J.; Wold, A.; Giriat, W.; Kershaw, R. (1968). "Semiconducting Properties of Single Crystals of n- and p-Type Tungsten Diselenide (WSe2)". Journal of Applied Physics39 (10): 353–358. doi:10.1063/1.1655829. Bibcode: 1968JAP....39.4736U.
↑Gobrecht, J.; Gerischer, H.; Tributsch, H. (1978). "Electrochemical Solar Cell Based on the d-Band Semiconductor Tungsten-Diselenide". Berichte der Bunsengesellschaft für physikalische Chemie82 (12): 1331–1335. doi:10.1002/bbpc.19780821212.
↑Zhang, Xin; Qiao, Xiao-Fen; Shi, Wei; Wu, Jiang-Bin; Jiang, De-Sheng; Tan, Ping-Heng (2015). "Phonon and Raman scattering of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides from monolayer, multilayer to bulk material". Chem. Soc. Rev.44 (9): 2757–85. doi:10.1039/C4CS00282B. PMID25679474. Bibcode: 2015arXiv150200701Z.
↑Li, Hai; Wu, Jumiati; Yin, Zongyou; Zhang, Hua (2014). "Preparation and Applications of Mechanically Exfoliated Single-Layer and Multilayer MoS2 and WSe2 Nanosheets". Accounts of Chemical Research47 (4): 1067–1075. doi:10.1021/ar4002312. PMID24697842.