Profound Effect of Substrate Hydroxylation and Hydration on Electronic and Optical Properties of Monolayer MoS2

Atomic force microscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and scanning photoluminescence spectroscopy image the progressive postgrowth hydroxylation and hydration of atomically flat Al2O3(0001) under monolayer MoS2, manifested in large work function shifts (100 mV) due to charge transfer (>10(13) cm(-2)) from the substrate and changes in PL intensity, energy, and peak width. In contrast, trapped water between exfoliated graphene and Al2O3(0001) causes surface potential and doping changes one and two orders of magnitude smaller, respectively, and MoS2 grown on hydrophobic hexagonal boron nitride is unaffected by water exposure.