TY - JOUR AU - Appel, S. AU - Volman, A. AU - Houben, L. AU - Gelbstein, Y. AU - Bar Sadan, M. TI - Orienting MoS$_{2}$ flakes into ordered films JO - Journal of materials science VL - 49 IS - 21 SN - 1573-4803 CY - Dordrecht [u.a.] PB - Springer Science + Business Media B.V M1 - FZJ-2015-03665 SP - 7353 - 7359 PY - 2014 AB - Layered transition metal di-chalcogenide (TMD) materials exhibit a unique combination of structural anisotropy combined with rich chemistry that confers controllability over physical properties such as bandgap and magnetism. Most research in this area is focused on single layers that are technologically challenging to produce, especially when trying to dope and alloy the host lattice. In this work, we use MoS2 flakes as a model system for the production of deliberately oriented films for practical applications in which anisotropic materials are required. The proposed production method combines ball milling with exfoliation in solution of MoS2 flakes, followed by their arrangement on a large centimeter-scale substrate by a simple and non-expensive procedure. The results show that the level of orientation achieved using the proposed system is as good as that of materials that were pressed and subjected to thermal treatment. The ball milling and exfoliation processes maintain the original crystalline structure of the MoS2 flakes, and the XRD results show that additional crystallographic phases were not produced. Lattice parameters are preserved, which verifies that other species such as water molecules did not intercalate into the MoS2 molecules. The proposed method of producing oriented films is universal, and as such, it is useful both for pure materials and for mixtures of compounds, the latter of which can be used to produce films with specifically tailored physical properties. LB - PUB:(DE-HGF)16 UR - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000340679000002 DO - DOI:10.1007/s10853-014-8471-1 UR - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/201368 ER -