Advances in Physics and Chemistry of Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Janus Monolayers: Properties, Applications, and Future Prospects

Abstract

Janus transition metal dichalcogenides (JTMDs) have garnered significant interest from the scientific community owing to their remarkable physical and chemical features. The existence of intrinsic dipoles makes them different from conventional transition metal dichalcogenides. These properties are useful in various potential applications, including energy storage, energy generation, and other electronic devices. The JTMDs are considered a hot topic in two dimensional (2D) materials research, making it necessary to understand their fundamental properties and potential use in various applications. This review covers the fundamental difference between Janus and conventional transition metal dichalcogenide‐based 2D materials. This discussion encompasses the characteristics of monolayer, bilayer, and multilayer materials, focusing on their structural stability, electronics properties, optical properties, piezoelectricity, and Rashba effects. The impact of external stimuli such as strain and electric field toward engineering the ground state properties of monolayer JTMDs is discussed. Additionally, various potential applications of Janus monolayers, including gas sensors, catalysis, electrochemical energy storage, thermoelectric, solar cells, and field effect transistors, are highlighted, emphasizing enhancing their performance. Finally, the prospects of Janus 2D materials for next‐generation electronic devices are highlighted.

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REVIEW
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Advances in Physics and Chemistry of Transition Metal
Dichalcogenide Janus Monolayers: Properties, Applications,
and Future Prospects
Rajneesh Chaurasiya, Shubham Tyagi, Abhijeet J. Kale, Goutam Kumar Gupta,
Rajesh Kumar, and Ambesh Dixit*
Janus transition metal dichalcogenides (JTMDs) have garnered significant
interest from the scientific community owing to their remarkable physical and
chemical features. The existence of intrinsic dipoles makes them different from
conventional transition metal dichalcogenides. These properties are useful
in various potential applications, including energy storage, energy generation,
and other electronic devices. The JTMDs are considered a hot topic in two
dimensional (2D) materials research, making it necessary to understand their
fundamental properties and potential use in various applications. This review
covers the fundamental difference between Janus and conventional transition
metal dichalcogenide-based 2D materials. This discussion encompasses
the characteristics of monolayer, bilayer, and multilayer materials,
focusing on their structural stability, electronics properties, optical properties,
piezoelectricity, and Rashba effects. The impact of external stimuli such
as strain and electric field toward engineering the ground state properties
of monolayer JTMDs is discussed. Additionally, various potential applications
of Janus monolayers, including gas sensors, catalysis, electrochemical
energy storage, thermoelectric, solar cells, and field effect transistors, are
highlighted, emphasizing enhancing their performance. Finally, the prospects
of Janus 2D materials for next-generation electronic devices are highlighted.
1. Introduction
2D layered materials demonstrate van der Waals (vdW) inter-
actions between layers, accompanied by strong in-plane cova-
lent bonding. The isolation of one atom thin carbon layer, i.e.,
graphene, from bulk graphite in 2004 by Giem et al. led to the
R. Chaurasiya
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Amrita
School of Engineering
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Chennai, Tamil Nadu 601103, India
R. Chaurasiya, S. Tyagi, A. J. Kale
Department of Physics
Indian Institute of Technology
Jodhpur, Rajasthan 342030, India
The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article
can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adts.202400854
DOI: 10.1002/adts.202400854
enrichment of the 2D materials field.[1]
Graphene, a sp2-bonded carbon layer,
possesses extraordinary electrical, ther-
moelectric, optical, electronic, and energy
storage properties useful for various
applications.[2–4]The work on graphene
motivated the development of numerous
elemental 2D materials, such as silicene,
phosphorene, and germanene, together
with numerous multielement monolayers,
such as boron nitride and zinc oxide.[5,6]
These 2D materials have unique layer-
dependent properties distinct from bulk
materials. The semi-metallic nature of
graphene has limited its utilization in
certain applications where a bandgap is
required.[7]Numerous efforts aimed at
opening the bandgap of graphene, but it
eventually degraded or limited its physical
properties.[8]In recent years, numerous
2D materials, particularly transition metal
dichalcogenides (TMDs), have been exten-
sively investigated both experimentally and
computationally for targeted applications
including sensors, solar cells, photodetec-
tors, batteries, supercapacitors, field-effect
transistors, lasers, catalysis, and light-emitting diodes.[9,10]
Figure 1illustrates the crystal structure and electrical bandgap
of some 2D materials.
2D TMDs exhibit graphene-like few atomic thick honeycomb
structures, which are nearly transparent and highly flexible.[11]
The electronic properties of 2D TMDs depend on the transition
G. K. Gupta
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
National Institute of Technology Agartala
Agartala 799046, India
R. Kumar
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
A. Dixit
Department of Physics and Rishabh Centre for Research and Innovation
in Clean Energy
Indian Institute of Technology
Jodhpur, Rajasthan 342030, India
E-mail: ambesh@iitj.ac.in
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