MoS2 Monolayers on Au Nanodot Arrays: Surface Plasmon, Local Strain, and Interfacial Electronic Interaction

Abstract

Metal and transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) hybrid systems have been attracting research attention because exciton–plasmon coupling is a desirable means to tune the physical properties of TMD materials. Competing effects of metal nanostructures, such as local electromagnetic field enhancement and luminescence quenching, affect the photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of the hybrid systems. In this study, we prepared MoS2 monolayers on hexagonal arrays of Au nanodots and investigated their physical properties by micro-PL and surface photovoltage (SPV) measurements. MoS2 monolayers on bare Au nanodots exhibited higher PL intensities than those on Al2O3-coated Au nanodots. The Al2O3 spacer layer blocked charge transfer at the Au/MoS2 interface but allowed transfer of mechanical strain to the MoS2 monolayers on the nanodots. The SPV mapping revealed not only the electron transfer behavior at the Au/MoS2 contacts but also the lateral drift of charge carriers under light illumination, indicating nonradiative relaxation processes of the photogenerated excitons.