In this work we demonstrate that a free-standing van der Waals heterostructure, usually regarded as a flat object, can exhibit an intrinsic buckled atomic structure resulting from the interaction between two layers with a small lattice mismatch. We studied a freely suspended membrane of well-aligned graphene on a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) monolayer by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning TEM (STEM). We developed a detection method in the STEM that is capable of recording the direction of the scattered electron beam and that is extremely sensitive to the local stacking of atoms. A comparison between experimental data and simulated models shows that the heterostructure effectively bends in the out-of-plane direction, producing an undulated structure having a periodicity that matches the moiré wavelength. We attribute this rippling to the interlayer interaction and also show how this affects the intralayer strain in each layer.

Studying the atomic structure of intrinsic defects in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides is difficult since they damage quickly under the intense electron irradiation in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). However, this can also lead to insights into the creation of defects and their atom-scale dynamics. We first show that MoTe2 monolayers without protection indeed quickly degrade during scanning TEM (STEM) imaging, and discuss the observed atomic-level dynamics, including a transformation from the 1H phase into 1T′, 3-fold rotationally symmetric defects, and the migration of line defects between two 1H grains with a 60° misorientation. We then analyze the atomic structure of MoTe2 encapsulated between two graphene sheets to mitigate damage, finding the as-prepared material to contain an unexpectedly large concentration of defects. These include similar point defects (or quantum dots, QDs) as those created in the nonencapsulated material and two different types of line defects (or quantum wires, QWs) that can be transformed from one to the other under electron irradiation. Our density functional theory simulations indicate that the QDs and QWs embedded in MoTe2 introduce new midgap states into the semiconducting material and may thus be used to control its electronic and optical properties. Finally, the edge of the encapsulated material appears amorphous, possibly due to the pressure caused by the encapsulation.

We employ atomically resolved and element-specific scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) to visualize in situ and at the atomic scale the crystallization and restructuring processes of two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) films. To this end, we deposit a model heterostructure of thin amorphous MoS2 films onto freestanding graphene membranes used as high-resolution STEM supports. Notably, during STEM imaging the energy input from the scanning electron beam leads to beam-induced crystallization and restructuring of the amorphous MoS2 into crystalline MoS2 domains, thereby emulating widely used elevated temperature MoS2 synthesis and processing conditions. We thereby directly observe nucleation, growth, crystallization, and restructuring events in the evolving MoS2 films in situ and at the atomic scale. Our observations suggest that during MoS2 processing, various MoS2 polymorphs co-evolve in parallel and that these can dynamically transform into each other. We further highlight transitions from in-plane to out-of-plane crystallization of MoS2 layers, give indication of Mo and S diffusion species, and suggest that, in our system and depending on conditions, MoS2 crystallization can be influenced by a weak MoS2/graphene support epitaxy. Our atomic-scale in situ approach thereby visualizes multiple fundamental processes that underlie the varied MoS2 morphologies observed in previous ex situ growth and processing work. Our work introduces a general approach to in situ visualize at the atomic scale the growth and restructuring mechanisms of 2D transition-metal dichalcogenides and other 2D materials.

A two-dimensional petri dish of fullerenes in a graphene wrap allows electron microscopy observation of atomic-scale dynamics.

Along with hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen are the arguably most important elements for organic chemistry. Due to their rich variety of possible bonding configurations, they can form a staggering number of compounds. Here, we present a detailed analysis of nitrogen and oxygen bonding configurations in a defective carbon (graphene) lattice. Using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and single-atom electron energy loss spectroscopy, we directly imaged oxygen atoms in graphene oxide, as well as nitrogen atoms implanted into graphene. The collected data allows us to compare nitrogen and oxygen bonding configurations, showing clear differences between the two elements. As expected, nitrogen forms either two or three bonds with neighboring carbon atoms, with three bonds being the preferred configuration. Oxygen, by contrast, tends to bind with only two carbon atoms. Remarkably, however, triple-coordinated oxygen with three carbon neighbors is also observed, a configuration that is exceedingly rare in organic compounds.