Controlled Growth of Large-Area 2D TMD Films for Energy Harvesting Applications

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDs) have garnered significant attention for their unique structural, electrical, and optical properties, which make them promising materials for energy harvesting applications. This study explores the continuous synthesis of layered-controlled MoSe₂ films over centimeter-scale areas using the atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition (APCVD) method using selenium and molybdenum trioxide as solid precursors. Using optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, we characterized the as-synthesized 2D MoSe₂ films. Remarkably, we achieved large-area MoSe₂ growth on SiO₂/Si substrates across different precursor amounts. However, the surface morphology, thickness, and crystallite size of MoSe₂ domains were significantly influenced by the precursor quantity. Furthermore, we investigate the piezoelectric properties of CVD grown monolayer and multilayer MoSe₂ films. Our findings indicate that the monolayer MoSe₂ film has an exceptional piezoelectric output voltage of about 2.6 V, while the multilayer MoSe₂ film has about 4.3 V. This work highlights the potential for optimizing 2D MoSe₂ layer number for improved energy harvesting applications.