Article Direct Visualization of Defect‐Controlled Diffusion in van der Waals Gaps

Joachim Dahl Thomsen ; Yaxian Wang ; Henrik Flyvbjerg ; Eugene Park ; Kenji Watanabe SAMURAI ORCID (National Institute for Materials Science) ; Takashi Taniguchi SAMURAI ORCID (National Institute for Materials Science) ; Prineha Narang ; Frances M. Ross

Advanced Materials - 2024 - Thomsen - Direct Visualization of Defect‐Controlled Diffusion in van der Waals Gaps.pdf
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Joachim Dahl Thomsen, Yaxian Wang, Henrik Flyvbjerg, Eugene Park, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Prineha Narang, Frances M. Ross. Direct Visualization of Defect‐Controlled Diffusion in van der Waals Gaps. Advanced Materials. 2024, 36 (39), 2403989. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202403989

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(abstract)

Diffusion processes govern fundamental phenomena such as phase transformations, doping, and intercalation in van der Waals (vdW) bonded materials. Here, we quantify the diffusion dynamics of W atoms by visualizing the motion of individual atoms at three different vdW interfaces, BN/vacuum, BN/BN, and BN/WS2, using scanning transmission electron microscopy movies. Supported by density functional theory calculations, we infer that in all cases diffusion is governed by intermittent trapping at electron beam-generated defect sites. This leads to diffusion properties that depend strongly on the number of defects. These results suggest that diffusion and intercalation processes in vdW materials are highly tunable and sensitive to crystal quality. Furthermore, the demonstration of atomic resolution imaging of materials inside vdW heterostructures offers possibilities for direct visualization of diffusion and atomic interactions, as well as for experiments exploring atomic structures, their in-situ modification, and electrical property measurement.

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Keyword: Defect-Controlled atomic Diffusion, van der Waals (vdW) gaps, scanning transmission electron microscopy

Date published: 2024-08-04

Publisher: Wiley

Journal:

  • Advanced Materials (ISSN: 09359648) vol. 36 issue. 39 2403989

Funding:

  • Basic Energy Sciences FWP ERKCK47
  • Army Research Office W911NF‐18‐1‐0431
  • Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation GBMF8048

Manuscript type: Publisher's version (Version of record)

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First published URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202403989

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Updated at: 2026-02-14 22:51:07 +0900

Published on MDR: 2026-02-10 18:03:06 +0900

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