title: ReaxFF Reactive Force-Field Study of Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2).
abstract: Two-dimensional layers of molybdenum disulfide, MoS2, have been recognized as promising materials for nanoelectronics due to their exceptional electronic and optical properties. Here we develop a new ReaxFF reactive potential that can accurately describe the thermodynamic and structural properties of MoS2sheets, guided by extensive density functional theory simulations. This potential is then applied to the formation energies of five different types of vacancies, various vacancy migration barriers, and the transition barrier between the semiconducting 2H and metallic 1T phases. The energetics of ripplocations, a recently observed defect in van der Waals layers, is examined, and the interplay between these defects and sulfur vacancies is studied. As strain engineering of MoS2sheets is an effective way to manipulate the sheets' electronic and optical properties, the new ReaxFF description can provide valuable insights into morphological changes that occur under various loading conditions and defect distributions, thus allowing one to tailor the electronic properties of these 2D crystals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2820-9749
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ostadhossein
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahnamoun
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Yuanxi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Sulin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.|Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Vincent H
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Crespi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Adri C T
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: van Duin