Dislocation motion and grain boundary migration in two-dimensional tungsten disulphide

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 5; no. 1; p. 4867
• Main Authors: Azizi, Amin, Zou, Xiaolong, Ercius, Peter, Zhang, Zhuhua, Elías, Ana Laura, Perea-López, Néstor, Stone, Greg, Terrones, Mauricio, Yakobson, Boris I., Alem, Nasim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 09.09.2014; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 639/301/357/1018; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5867

Dislocations have a significant effect on mechanical, electronic, magnetic and optical properties of crystals. For a dislocation to migrate in bulk crystals, collective and simultaneous movement of several atoms is needed. In two-dimensional crystals, in contrast, dislocations occur on the surface and can exhibit unique migration dynamics. Dislocation migration has recently been studied in graphene, but no studies have been reported on dislocation dynamics for two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides with unique metal-ligand bonding and a three-atom thickness. This study presents dislocation motion, glide and climb, leading to grain boundary migration in a tungsten disulphide monolayer. Direct atomic-scale imaging coupled with atomistic simulations reveals a strikingly low-energy barrier for glide, leading to significant grain boundary reconstruction in tungsten disulphide. The observed dynamics are unique and different from those reported for graphene. Through strain field mapping, we also demonstrate how dislocations introduce considerable strain along the grain boundaries and at the dislocation cores. Two-dimensional (2D) crystals offer exciting opportunities to study dislocations, including their migration dynamics. Here, the authors show the local strain field at the dislocation core and dislocation motion leading to grain boundary migration in a monolayer of tungsten disulphide.