The stacking of two-dimensional layered materials, such as semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), insulating hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), and semimetallic graphene, has been theorized to produce tunable electronic and optoelectronic properties. Here we demonstrate the direct growth of MoS2, WSe2, and hBN on epitaxial graphene to form large-area van der Waals heterostructures. We reveal that the properties of the underlying graphene dictate properties of the heterostructures, where strain, wrinkling, and defects on the surface of graphene act as nucleation centers for lateral growth of the overlayer. Additionally, we show that the direct synthesis of TMDs on epitaxial graphene exhibits atomically sharp interfaces. Finally, we demonstrate that direct growth of MoS2 on epitaxial graphene can lead to a 10(3) improvement in photoresponse compared to MoS2 alone.

Tungsten ditelluride (WTe2) is a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) with physical and electronic properties that make it attractive for a variety of electronic applications. Although WTe2 has been studied for decades, its structure and electronic properties have only recently been correctly described. We experimentally and theoretically investigate the structure, dynamics and electronic properties of WTe2, and verify that WTe2 has its minimum energy configuration in a distorted 1T structure (Td structure), which results in metallic-like transport. Our findings unambiguously confirm the metallic nature of WTe2, introduce new information about the Raman modes of Td-WTe2, and demonstrate that Td-WTe2 is readily oxidized via environmental exposure. Finally, these findings confirm that, in its thermodynamically favored Td form, the utilization of WTe2 in electronic device architectures such as field effect transistors may need to be reevaluated.

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An ab initio study of four different stoichiometric apatites ͑oxyapatite, hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite, and chlorapatite͒ is presented. The calculations were performed using density-functional theory with the localdensity approximation for exchange and correlation, and a full relaxation of the electronic structure, the atomic arrangement, and the unit cell. Hexagonal unit cells were obtained for all four apatites, and the calculated atomic arrangements are in close agreement with observation in those cases for which the structure is firmly established. A zero-temperature structure is predicted for oxyapatite, and two possible configurations were found for the Cl Ϫ ions in chlorapatite. The possibility of the monoclinic structure in hydroxyapatite and chlorapatite was also studied but no indication of greater stability with respect to the hexagonal structure was found. A relationship between the structure of the apatites and that of pure calcium is discussed.