Graphene-Assisted Antioxidation of Tungsten Disulfide Monolayers: Substrate and Electric-Field Effect

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have emerged as promising materials to complement graphene for advanced optoelectronics. However, irreversible degradation of chemical vapor deposition-grown monolayer TMDs via oxidation under ambient conditions limits applications of TMD-based devices. Here, the growth of oxidation-resistant tungsten disulfide (WS2) monolayers on graphene is demonstrated, and the mechanism of oxidation of WS2 on SiO2, graphene/SiO2, and on graphene suspended in air is elucidated. While WS2 on a SiO2 substrate begins oxidation within weeks, epitaxially grown WS2 on suspended graphene does not show any sign of oxidation, attributed to the screening effect of surface electric field caused by the substrate. The control of a local oxidation of WS2 on a SiO2 substrate by a local electric field created using an atomic force microscope tip is also demonstrated.