Universal hydrogen-free synthesis and elemental doping of two-dimensional transition metal selenides

Abstract

Two-dimensional transition metal selenides (TMSs) feature notable bandgap flexibility, versatile doping characteristics, and practical manufacturability, positioning them as promising candidates for next-generation electronics. However, their synthesis remains a critical bottleneck, as conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) routes require H2 assistance for selenization, raising safety, cost, and quality concerns and constraining elemental doping. Here we show a universal, H2-free CVD method that overcomes these limitations. Our approach produces a broad spectrum of 2D TMSs, including monolayer binaries, bilayer polytypes, alloys, and heterostructures, and is compatible with diverse substrates. Incorporating common metals (Al, Zn, Fe, Ni, Cu) into the precursor enhances growth kinetics and enables precise doping. Al-doped WSe2 exhibits markedly lower resistance, with centimeter-scale films attaining a hole mobility of 28.36 cm2 V−1 s−1 and an on/off ratio of 3.56×106, comparable to exfoliated and H2-assisted monolayers. This work establishes a safe, scalable, and tunable synthesis strategy for high-performance 2D electronics.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{man2026universal,
  title = {{Universal hydrogen-free synthesis and elemental doping of two-dimensional transition metal selenides}},
  author = {Ping Man and Lok Wing Wong and Ka Ho Leung and Zhiqiang Guan and Tianren Chen and Honglin Chen and Jiangbo Peng and Mingjie Li and Chun-Sing Lee and Qingming Deng and Jiong Zhao and Thuc Hue Ly},
  journal = {Nature Communications},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78372-5},
  url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78372-5},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Universal hydrogen-free synthesis and elemental doping of two-dimensional transition metal selenides
AU  - Ping Man
AU  - Lok Wing Wong
AU  - Ka Ho Leung
AU  - Zhiqiang Guan
AU  - Tianren Chen
AU  - Honglin Chen
AU  - Jiangbo Peng
AU  - Mingjie Li
AU  - Chun-Sing Lee
AU  - Qingming Deng
AU  - Jiong Zhao
AU  - Thuc Hue Ly
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
JO  - Nature Communications
DO  - 10.1038/s41467-026-78372-5
UR  - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78372-5
AB  - Two-dimensional transition metal selenides (TMSs) feature notable bandgap flexibility, versatile doping characteristics, and practical manufacturability, positioning them as promising candidates for next-generation electronics. However, their synthesis remains a critical bottleneck, as conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) routes require H2 assistance for selenization, raising safety, cost, and quality concerns and constraining elemental doping. Here we show a universal, H2-free CVD method that overcomes these limitations. Our approach produces a broad spectrum of 2D TMSs, including monolayer binaries, bilayer polytypes, alloys, and heterostructures, and is compatible with diverse substrates. Incorporating common metals (Al, Zn, Fe, Ni, Cu) into the precursor enhances growth kinetics and enables precise doping. Al-doped WSe2 exhibits markedly lower resistance, with centimeter-scale films attaining a hole mobility of 28.36 cm2 V−1 s−1 and an on/off ratio of 3.56×106, comparable to exfoliated and H2-assisted monolayers. This work establishes a safe, scalable, and tunable synthesis strategy for high-performance 2D electronics.
SN  - 2041-1723
ER  -

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