Solid-state reaction as a mechanism of 1T ↔ 2H transformation in MoS2 monolayers.

Monolayers of molybdenum disulfide MoS2 are considered to be prospective materials for nanoelectronics and various catalytic processes. Since in certain conditions they undergo 1T ↔ 2H phase transitions, studying these phase changes is an urgent task. We present a DFT research of these transitions to show that they can proceed as a solid-state reaction. Two transition states were discovered with energy barriers 1.03 and 1.40 eV. Sulfur atoms in the transition states are shown to be displaced relative to molybdenum atoms so that a tendency of one structural modification to transform into the other modification is seen. This kind of displacements agrees with electron microscopy data reported earlier. The energy parameters indicate that 1T → 2H reactions are exothermic for both transition states and can possibly proceed in a self-sustained manner when initially activated by some external energy impact.

Evolution of chemical bonding and electron density rearrangements during D(3h) → D(3d) reaction in monolayered TiS2: a QTAIM and ELF study.

Monolayered titanium disulfide TiS2, a prospective nanoelectronic material, was previously shown to be subject to an exothermic solid-state D3h -D3d reaction that proceeds via a newly discovered transition state. Here, we study the reaction in detail using topological methods of quantum chemistry (quantum theory of atoms in molecules and electron localization function analysis) and show how electron density and chemical bonding between the atoms change in the course of the reaction. The reaction is shown to undergo a series of topological catastrophes, associated with elementary chemical events such as break and formation of bonds (including the unexpected formation of S-S bonding between sulfur layers), and rearrangement of electron density of outer valence and core shells.