Boosting Piezoelectricity by 3D Printing PVDF-MoS2 Composite as a Conformal and High-Sensitivity Piezoelectric Sensor

Additively manufactured flexible and high-performance piezoelectric devices are highly desirable for sensing and energy harvesting of 3D conformal structures. Herein, the study reports a significantly enhanced piezoelectricity in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) achieved through the in situ dipole alignment of PVDF within PVDF-2D molybdenum disulfide (2D MoS₂) composite by 3D printing. The shear stress-induced dipole poling of PVDF and 2D MoS₂ alignment are harnessed during 3D printing to boost piezoelectricity without requiring a post-poling process. The results show a remarkable, more than the eight-fold increment in the piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃) for 3D printed PVDF-8wt.% MoS₂ composite over cast neat PVDF. The underlying mechanism of piezoelectric property enhancement is attributed to the increased volume fraction of β phase in PVDF, filler fraction, heterogeneous strain distribution around PVDF-MoS₂ interfaces, and strain transfer to the nanofillers as confirmed by microstructural analysis and finite element simulation. These results provide a promising route to design and fabricate high-performance 3D piezoelectric devices via 3D printing for next-generation sensors and mechanical–electronic conformal devices.     

Deterministic Polymorphic Engineering of MoTe2 for Photonic and Optoelectronic Applications

Developing selective and coherent polymorphic crystals at the nanoscale offers a novel strategy for designing integrated architectures for photonic and optoelectronic applications such as metasurfaces, optical gratings, photodetectors, and image sensors. Here, a direct optical writing approach is demonstrated to deterministically create polymorphic 2D materials by locally inducing metallic 1T′-MoTe₂ on the semiconducting 2H-MoTe₂ host layer. In the polymorphic-engineered MoTe₂, 2H- and 1T′- crystalline phases exhibit strong optical contrast from near-infrared to telecom-band ranges (1–1.5 µm), due to the change in the band structure and increase in surface roughness. Sevenfold enhancement of third harmonic generation intensity is realized with conversion efficiency (susceptibility) of ≈1.7 × 10⁻⁷ (1.1 × 10⁻¹⁹ m² V⁻²) and ≈1.7 × 10⁻⁸ (0.3 × 10⁻¹⁹ m² V⁻²) for 1T′ and 2H-MoTe₂, respectively at telecom-band ultrafast pump laser. Lastly, based on polymorphic engineering on MoTe₂, a Schottky photodiode with a high photoresponsivity of 90 AW⁻¹ is demonstrated. This study proposes facile polymorphic engineered structures that will greatly benefit realizing integrated photonics and optoelectronic circuits.     

2D van der Waals Heterojunction of Organic and Inorganic Monolayers for High Responsivity Phototransistors

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures composing of organic molecules with inorganic 2D crystals open the door to fabricate various promising hybrid devices. Here, a fully ordered organic self-assembled monolayer (SAM) to construct hybrid organic–inorganic vdW heterojunction phototransistors for highly sensitive light detection is used. The heterojunctions, formed by layering MoS₂ monolayer crystals onto organic [12-(benzo[b]benzo[4,5]thieno[2,3-d]thiophen-2-yl)dodecyl)]phosphonic acid SAM, are characterized by Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy as well as Kelvin probe force microscopy. Remarkably, this vdW heterojunction transistor exhibits a superior photoresponsivity of 475 A W⁻¹ and enhanced external quantum efficiency of 1.45 × 10⁵%, as well as an extremely low dark photocurrent in the pA range. This work demonstrates that hybridizing SAM with 2D materials can be a promising strategy for fabricating diversified optoelectronic devices with unique properties.     

Pulsed Gate Switching of MoS2 Field-Effect Transistor Based on Flexible Polyimide Substrate for Ultrasonic Detectors

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) semiconductors have closely been studied for potential applications in detectors, optoelectronics, and flexible electronics due to its high electrical and robust mechanical performance. Herein, the first experimental study of the high-speed ultrasound wave detection by the combinational structure of flexible MoS₂ field-effect transistor (FET) and piezoelectric device based on polyvinylidene fluoride trifluoro ethylene P(VDF-TrFE) is reported. The proposed flexible MoS₂ based FET device exhibits maximum mobility of 18.12 cm² Vs⁻¹, high on/off current ratio of ≈10⁵, high robustness over mechanical tests, and excellent gate-pulsed switching behavior at different frequencies (10, 100, and 500 kHz), thus, utilized as supporting electronics to detect ultrasound wave at high-speed. The ultrasound waves are applied to the self-assembled piezoelectric device under different power scales (0 ≈ 1.5 W cm⁻²) and the transfer curve of the proposed FET is analyzed. The results show a clear detection of ultrasound waves with high stability and excellent linearity in terms of threshold voltage (V_th) shift and drain current (I_ds) under different power levels. Also, the pulsed gate-switching behavior is analyzed and the ultrasound detection with high stability is observed at high-speed switching, thus, enabling the development of applications in high-speed electronic devices and biomedical imaging tools.     

2D Layered Dipeptide Crystals for Piezoelectric Applications

2D piezoelectric materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides are attracting significant attention because they offer various benefits over bulk piezoelectrics. In this work, the fabrication of layered biomolecular crystals of diphenylalanine (FF) obtained via a co-assembly of l,l - and d,d - enantiomers of FF monomers is reported. Their crystal structure, thermal and chemical stabilities, and piezoelectric properties are investigated. Single crystal X-ray diffraction results show that FF enantiomers are arranged in the form of bilayers consisting of monomers with alternating chirality packed into a tape-like monoclinic structure belonging to a polar space group P2₁. Each bilayer ( ≈ 1.5 nm thick) demonstrates strong out-of-plane piezoelectricity (d₃₃  ≈  20 pm V⁻¹) that is almost an order of magnitude higher than in the archetypical piezoelectric material quartz. The grown crystals demonstrate better thermal and chemical stabilities than self-assembled hexagonal FF nanotubes studied in the past. Piezoelectric bilayers, being held via weak aromatic interaction in the bulk crystals, can be exfoliated by mechanical or chemical methods, thus resulting in a 2D piezoelectric material, which can find various applications in biocompatible and ecologically friendly electromechanical microdevices, such as sensors, actuators, and energy harvesting elements used in implantable and wearable electronics.     

Junction Field-Effect Transistors Based on PdSe2/MoS2 Heterostructures for Photodetectors Showing High Responsivity and Detectivity

2D materials have shown great promise for next-generation high-performance photodetectors. However, the performance of photodetectors based on 2D materials is generally limited by the tradeoff between photoresponsivity and photodetectivity. Here, a novel junction field-effect transistor (JFET) photodetector consisting of a PdSe₂ gate and MoS₂ channel is constructed to realize high responsivity and high detectivity through effective modulation of top junction gate and back gate. The JFET exhibits high carrier mobility of 213 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. What is more, the high responsivity of 6 × 10² A W⁻¹, as well as the high detectivity of 10¹¹ Jones, are achieved simultaneously through the dual-gate modulation. The high performance is attributed to the modulation of the depletion region by the dual-gate, which can effectively suppress the dark current and enhance the photocurrent, thereby realizing high detectivity and responsivity. The JFET photodetector provides a new approach to realize photodetectors with high responsivity and detectivity.     

Flexible High-Performance Photovoltaic Devices based on 2D MoS2 Diodes with Geometrically Asymmetric Contact Areas

Optoelectronic performance of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs)-based solar cells and self-powered photodetectors remain limited due to fabrication challenges, such as difficulty in doping TMDs to form p–n junctions. Herein, MoS₂ diodes based on geometrically asymmetric contact areas are shown to achieve a high current rectification ratio of ≈10⁵, facilitating efficient photovoltaic charge collection. Under solar illumination, the device demonstrates a high open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 430 mV and a short-circuit current density (J_sc) of −13.42 mA cm⁻², resulting in a high photovoltaic power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.16%, the highest reported for a lateral 2D solar cell. The diodes also show a high photoresponsivity of 490.3 mA W⁻¹, and a large photo detectivity of 4.05 × 10¹⁰ Jones, along with a fast response time of 0.8 ms under 450 nm wavelength at zero bias for self-powered photodetection applications. The device transferred on a flexible substrate shows a high photocurrent and PCE retentions of 94.4%, and 88.2% after 5000 bending cycles at a bending radius of 1.5 cm, respectively, demonstrating robustness for flexible optoelectronic applications. The simple fabrication process, superior photovoltaic properties, and high flexibility suggests that the geometrically asymmetric MoS₂ device architecture is an excellent candidate for flexible photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications.     

Manipulating the Light-Matter Interaction of PtS/MoS2 p–n Junctions for High Performance Broadband Photodetection

Due to the limited carrier concentration, 2D transition metal dichalcogenides have lower intrinsic dark current, and thus, are widely studied for high performance room photodetection. However, the light-matter interaction is still unclear, thus tuning the photoexcitation and further manipulating the photodetection is a challenge. Herein, large-area PtS films are synthesized, and the growth mechanism is investigated. It is demonstrated that PtS has an orthorhombic structure and exhibits the p-type semiconducting behavior. Then, MoS₂/PtS p–n heterojunction is fabricated, and its energy diagram is discussed based on the Kelvin probe force microscopy. The contact potential difference is about 160 mV, which is much larger than previous 2D junctions facilitating the charge separation. Furthermore, the phototransistor based on MoS₂/PtS p–n heterojunction is prepared, showing broadband photoresponse from visible to near-infrared. The manipulation of an external field on photoresponse, detectivity, and rise/fall time are explored and discussed. The responsivity can reach up to 25.43 A W⁻¹, and the detectivity is 8.54 × 10¹² Jones. These results indicate that PtS film is a prospective candidate for high-performance optoelectronic devices and broaden the scope of infrared detection materials.     

Recent Progress on Structure Manipulation of Poly(vinylidene fluoride)-Based Ferroelectric Polymers for Enhanced Piezoelectricity and Applications

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based polymers demonstrate great potential for applications in flexible and wearable electronics but show low piezoelectric coefficients (e.g., −d₃₃ < 30 pC N⁻¹). The effective improvement for the piezoelectricity of PVDF is achieved by manipulating its semicrystalline structures. However, there is still a debate about which component is the primary contributor to piezoelectricity. Therefore, current methods to improve the piezoelectricity of PVDF can be classified into modulations of the amorphous phase, the crystalline region, and the crystalline–amorphous interface. Here, the basic principles and measurements of piezoelectric coefficients for soft polymers are first discussed. Then, three different categories of structural modulations are reviewed. In each category, the physical understanding and strategies to improve the piezoelectric performance of PVDF are discussed. In particular, the crucial role of the oriented amorphous fraction at the crystalline–amorphous interface in determining the piezoelectricity of PVDF is emphasized. At last, the future development of high performance piezoelectric polymers is outlooked.     

Atomic Vacancy Control and Elemental Substitution in a Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide for High Performance Optoelectronic Device Arrays

Defect engineering of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) is essential to modulate their optoelectrical functionalities, but there are only a few reports on defect‐engineered TMDC device arrays. Herein, the atomic vacancy control and elemental substitution in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD)‐grown molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) monolayer via mild photon irradiation under controlled atmospheres are reported. Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence, X‐ray, and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy comprehensively demonstrate that the well‐controlled photoactivation delicately modulates the sulfur‐to‐molybdenum ratio as well as the work function of a MoS₂ monolayer. Furthermore, the atomic‐resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy directly confirms that small portions (2–4 at% corresponding to the defect density of 4.6 × 10¹² to 9.2 × 10¹³ cm^?2) of sulfur vacancies and oxygen substituents are generated in the MoS₂ while the overall atomic‐scale structural integrity is well preserved. Electronic and optoelectronic device arrays are also realized using the defect‐engineered CVD‐grown MoS₂, and it is further confirmed that the well‐defined sulfur vacancies and oxygen substituents effectively give rise to the selective n‐ and p‐doping in the MoS₂, respectively, without the trade‐off in device performance. In particular, low‐percentage oxygen‐doped MoS₂ devices show outstanding optoelectrical performance, achieving a detectivity of ≈10¹³ Jones and rise/decay times of 0.62 and 2.94 s, respectively.     

High-performing MoS2-embedded Si photodetector

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are a new class of materials that replace advanced functional materials like graphene, CNT etc., in photovoltaics and sensors. In the present work, the 2-dimensional tri-layer MoS₂ is applied for high-performing photodetector. Here, the conventional n-doped p-type Si (n-Si/p-Si) was coated with tri-layer MoS₂ film using CVD method. HRTEM reveals the presence of tri-layer with highly ordered lattice planes. Characteristic peaks of Mo and S are obtained in XPS profile. Due to spin-orbit coupling, the 3d band of Mo and 2p band of S are split into two states. Raman spectrum of MoS₂ film shows two peaks, corresponding to its in-plane and out-of-plane vibrational modes. The wave number difference between these modes is measured as 22.97 cm⁻¹, which ensures that there are three layers in MoS₂ film. The splitting of valence band generates multiple excitons which are marked as A and B in the absorption profile. The excitonic transition corresponds to the direct band gap of MoS₂ (ie., 1.9 eV). The prepared MoS₂/n-Si/p-Si photodetector includes two rectifying junctions with considerable built-in potentials. A high rectification ratio was measured as 51.37 to ensure the quality junction formation. The photoresponse ratio of the MoS₂/n-Si/p-Si photodetector was obtained as 58.74 to confirm the quality junction formation between MoS₂ and Si with high detectivity of 5.42 × 10¹⁴ Jones. Moreover, the extremely fast rise and fall times of 33 µs and 30 µs were achieved without any external bias application. The functional use of MoS₂ window design would provide the high potential for the enhanced photoelectric devices, such as photodetectors and solar cells.     

Piezo‐Phototronic Effect for Enhanced Flexible MoS2/WSe2 van der Waals Photodiodes

The recent discoveries of transition‐metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as novel 2D electronic materials hold great promise to a rich variety of artificial van der Waals (vdWs) heterojunctions and superlattices. Moreover, most of the monolayer TMDs become intrinsically piezoelectric due to the lack of structural centrosymmetry, which offers them a new degree of freedom to interact with external mechanical stimuli. Here, fabrication of flexible vdWs p–n diode by vertically stacking monolayer n‐MoS₂ and a few‐layer p‐WSe₂ is achieved. Electrical measurement of the junction reveals excellent current rectification behavior with an ideality factor of 1.68 and photovoltaic response is realized. Performance modulation of the photodiode via piezo‐phototronic effect is also demonstrated. The optimized photoresponsivity increases by 86% when introducing a −0.62% compressive strain along MoS₂ armchair direction, which originates from realigned energy‐band profile at MoS₂/WSe₂ interface under strain‐induced piezoelectric polarization charges. This new coupling mode among piezoelectricity, semiconducting, and optical properties in 2D materials provides a new route to strain‐tunable vdWs heterojunctions and may enable the development of novel ultrathin optoelectronics.     

Multilevel Structure Engineered Lead-Free Piezoceramics Enabling Breakthrough in Energy Harvesting Performance for Bioelectronics

The prevalence of wearable/implantable medical electronics together with the rapid development of the Internet of Medicine Things call for the advancement of biocompatible, reliable, and high-efficiency energy harvesters. However, most current harvesters are based on toxic lead-based piezoelectric materials, raising biological safety concerns. What hinders the application of lead-free piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) is the low power output, where the key challenge lies in obtaining a high piezoelectric voltage constant (g₃₃) and harvesting figure of merit (d₃₃ × g₃₃). Here, micron pores are introduced into phased boundary engineered high-performance (K, Na)NbO₃-based ceramic matrix, resulting in the state-of-the-art g₃₃ and the highest d₃₃ × g₃₃ values of 57.3 × 10⁻³ Vm N⁻¹ and 20887 × 10⁻¹⁵ m² N⁻¹ in lead-free piezoceramics, respectively. Concomitantly, ultrahigh energy harvesting performances are obtained in porous ceramic PEHs, with output voltage and power density of 200 V and 11.6 mW cm⁻² under instantaneous force impact and an average charging rate of 14.1 µW under high-frequency (1 MHz) ultrasound excitation, far outperforming previously reported PEHs. Porous ceramic PEHs are further developed into wearable and bio-implantable devices for human motion sensing and percutaneous ultrasound power transmission, opening avenues for the design of next-generation eco-friendly WIMEs.     

MoS2 Nanosheets with Widened Interlayer Spacing for High‐Efficiency Removal of Mercury in Aquatic Systems

Molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂) has been an attractive target for investigations in the fields of catalysis, sensing, energy storage, electronics, and optoelectronics. However, its potential application in the important area of environmental cleanup has not yet been effectively explored. With an intrinsically sulfur‐rich characteristic and unique 2D structure, MoS₂ should be capable of mercury capture and removal. However, successful attempts to apply MoS₂ to mercury removal are quite rare, presumably because the vast majority of sulfur atoms are located inside the bulk of MoS₂ and are therefore inaccessible for mercury ions. Here, the first experimental evidence that MoS₂ nanosheets with widened interlayer spacing are capable of mercury capture, with an extremely high mercury uptake capacity closely matching the theoretically predicted value (2506 mg g^?1) and the largest distribution coefficient value (3.53 × 10⁸ mL g^?1) is provided. Remarkably, a single treatment of industrial wastewater (polyvinyl chloride industry) with this modified MoS₂ could efficiently reduce the mercury concentration (126 p.p.b.) below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits for drinking water standards. The findings open up the possibility of expanding the applications of transition metal dichalcogenides in environmental remediation.     

Piezoelectricity of the Transmembrane Protein ba3 Cytochrome c Oxidase

Controlling the electromechanical response of piezoelectric biological structures including tissues, peptides, and amino acids provides new applications for biocompatible, sustainable materials in electronics and medicine. Here, the piezoelectric effect is revealed in another class of biological materials, with robust longitudinal and shear piezoelectricity measured in single crystals of the transmembrane protein ba₃ cytochrome c oxidase from Thermus thermophilus. The experimental findings from piezoresponse force microscopy are substantiated using a range of control measurements and molecular models. The observed longitudinal and shear piezoelectric responses of ≈ 2 and 8 pm V⁻¹, respectively, are comparable to or exceed the performance of commonly used inorganic piezoelectric materials including quartz, aluminum nitride, and zinc oxide. This suggests that transmembrane proteins may provide, in addition to physiological energy transduction, technologically useful piezoelectric material derived entirely from nature. Membrane proteins could extend the range of rationally designed biopiezoelectric materials far beyond the minimalistic peptide motifs currently used in miniaturized energy harvesters, and the finding of robust piezoelectric response in a transmembrane protein also raises fundamental questions regarding the molecular evolution, activation, and role of regulatory proteins in the cellular nanomachinery, indicating that piezoelectricity might be important for fundamental physiological processes.     

Vertical-type 3D/Quasi-2D n-p Heterojunction Perovskite Photodetector

This research demonstrates a state-of-the-art vertical-transport photodetector with an n-type 3D MAPbI₃/p-type quasi-2D (Q-2D) BA₂MA₂Pb₃I₁₀ perovskite heterojunction. This structure introduces a ≈0.6 V built-in electric field at the n-p junction that greatly improves the characteristics of the perovskite photodetector, and the presence of Q-2D perovskite on the surface improves the life. The electrical polarities of the 3D and the Q-2D perovskite layers are simply controlled by self-constituent doping, making clearly defined n-p characteristics. Doctor-blade coating is used to fabricate the photodetector with a large area. The Q-2D materials with highly oriented (040) Q-2D (n = 2,3) planes are near the surface, and the (111) preferred planes mixed with high index Q-2D materials (n = 4,5) are found near the 3D/Q-2D interface. The stacking and interface are beneficial for carrier extraction and transport, yielding an external quantum efficiency of 77.9%, a carrier lifetime long as 295.7 ns, and a responsibility of 0.41 A W⁻¹. A low dark current density of 6.2 × 10⁻⁷ mA cm⁻² and a high detectivity of 2.82 × 10¹³ Jones are obtained. Rise time and fall time are fast as 1.33 and 10.1 µs, respectively. The results show the application potential of 3D/Q-2D n-p junction perovskite photodetectors.     

Non-Volatile Electrolyte-Gated Transistors Based on Graphdiyne/MoS2 with Robust Stability for Low-Power Neuromorphic Computing and Logic-In-Memory

Artificial synapses are the key building blocks for low-power neuromorphic computing that can go beyond the constraints of von Neumann architecture. In comparison with two-terminal memristors and three-terminal transistors with filament-formation and charge-trapping mechanisms, emerging electrolyte-gated transistors (EGTs) have been demonstrated as a promising candidate for neuromorphic applications due to their prominent analog switching performance. Here, a novel graphdiyne (GDY)/MoS₂-based EGT is proposed, where an ion-storage layer (GDY) is adopted to EGTs for the first time. Benefitting from this Li-ion-storage layer, the GDY/MoS₂-based EGT features a robust stability (variation < 1% for over 2000 cycles), an ultralow energy consumption (50 aJ µm⁻²), and long retention characteristics (>10⁴ s). In addition, a quasi-linear conductance update with low noise (1.3%), an ultrahigh G_max/G_min ratio (10³), and an ultralow readout conductance (<10 nS) have been demonstrated by this device, enabling the implementation of the neuromorphic computing with near-ideal accuracies. Moreover, the non-volatile characteristics of the GDY/MoS₂-based EGT enable it to demonstrate logic-in-memory functions, which can execute logic processing and store logic results in a single device. These results highlight the potential of the GDY/MoS₂-based EGT for next-generation low-power electronics beyond von Neumann architecture.     

Polarization-Resolved Broadband MoS2/Black Phosphorus/MoS2 Optoelectronic Memory with Ultralong Retention Time and Ultrahigh Switching Ratio

The rapidly emerging requirement for device miniaturization and structural flexibility make 2D semiconductors and their van der Waals (vdWs) heterostructures extremely attractive for nonvolatile optoelectronic memory (NOM) applications. Although several concepts for 2D NOM have been demonstrated, multi-heterojunction devices capable of further improving storage performance have received little attention. This work reports a concept for MoS₂/black phosphorus (BP)/MoS₂ multi-heterojunction NOM with artificial trap sites through the BP oxidation, in which the trapped holes at BP/PO_x interface intrigue a persistent photoconductivity that hardly recovers within the experimental time scales (exceeding 10⁴ s). As a result of the interfacial trap-controlled charge injection, the device exhibits excellent photoresponsive memory characteristics, including a record high detectivity of ≈1.2 × 10¹⁶ Jones, a large light-to-dark switching ratio of ≈1.5 × 10⁷_, an ultralow off-state current of ≈1.2 pA, and an outstanding multi-bit storage capacity (11 storage states, 546 nC state^–1). In addition, the middle BP layer in the multi-heterojunction enables broadband spectrum distinction (375–1064 nm), together with a high polarization ratio of 8.4. The obtained results represent the significant step toward the high-density integration of optoelectronic memories with 2D vdWs heterostructures.     

Flexible 3D Porous MoS2/CNTs Architectures with ZT of 0.17 at Room Temperature for Wearable Thermoelectric Applications

Developing materials that possess high electrical conductivities (σ) and Seebeck coefficients (S), low thermal conductivities (κ), and excellent mechanical properties is important to realize practical thermoelectric (TE) devices. Here, 3D hierarchical architectures consisting of hybrid molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) films are fabricated with the goal of increasing σ and decreasing κ. In these films, perpendicularly orientated CNTs interpenetrate restacked MoS₂ layers to form a 3D architecture, which increases the specific surface area and charge concentration. The MoS₂/20 wt% CNTs film shows high σ (235 ± 5 S?cm^?1), high S (68 ± 2 µV?K^?1), and low κ (19 ± 2 mW?m^?1?K^?1). The corresponding figure of merit (ZT) reaches 0.17 at room temperature, which is 65 times higher than that of pure MoS₂ film. In addition, the MoS₂/20 wt% CNTs film shows a tensile stress of 38.9 MPa, which is an order of magnitude higher than that of a control MoS₂ film. Using the MoS₂/CNTs film as an active material and human body as a heat source, a flexible, wearable TE wristband is fabricated by weaving seven strips of the 3D porous MoS₂/CNTs film. The wristband achieves an output voltage of 2.9 mV and corresponding power output of 0.22 µW at a temperature gradient of about 5 K.     

Large‐Area Chemical Vapor Deposited MoS2 with Transparent Conducting Oxide Contacts toward Fully Transparent 2D Electronics

2D semiconductors are poised to revolutionize the future of electronics and photonics, much like transparent oxide conductors and semiconductors have revolutionized the display industry. Herein, these two types of materials are combined to realize fully transparent 2D electronic devices and circuits. Specifically, a large‐area chemical vapor deposition process is developed to grow monolayer MoS₂ continuous films, which are, for the first time, combined with transparent conducting oxide (TCO) contacts. Transparent conducting aluminum doped zinc oxide contacts are deposited by atomic layer deposition, with composition tuning to achieve optimal conductivity and band‐offsets with MoS₂. The optimized process gives fully transparent TCO/MoS₂ 2D electronics with average visible‐range transmittance of 85%. The transistors show high mobility (4.2 cm² V^?1 s^?1), fast switching speed (0.114 V dec^?1), very low threshold voltage (0.69 V), and large switching ratio (4 × 10⁸). To our knowledge, these are the lowest threshold voltage and subthreshold swing values reported for monolayer chemical vapor deposition MoS₂ transistors. The transparent inverters show fast switching properties with a gain of 155 at a supply voltage of 10 V. The results demonstrate that transparent conducting oxides can be used as contact materials for 2D semiconductors, which opens new possibilities in 2D electronic and photonic applications.