SCANNING-TUNNELING-MICROSCOPY AND SPECTROSCOPY OF MOS(2) THIN-FILMS PREPARED BY AN INTERCALATION EXFOLIATION METHOD

Exfoliated MoS2 thin films on titanium substrates have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). Single layers of MoS2 Were placed on titanium substrates by an intercalation-exfoliation method. These layers consist of several hexagonal islands of surface atoms on the basal planes as well as axial planes with dangling bonds. The STS measurements showed a surface band gap value of 0.3 eV, which is lower than the value obtained on a single crystal of MoS2 (0.8 eV). Thus the differential conductivity measurements indicate that these films have a high density of states and conductivity due to the presence of a large number of axial lanes at the interface.