Sulfur-vacancy-dependent geometric and electronic structure of bismuth adsorbed on MoS2

Through Bi deposition on the single-crystalline MoS2 surface, we find that the density of the sulfur vacancy is a critical parameter for the growth of the crystalline Bi overlayer or cluster at room temperature. Also, the MoS2 band structure is significantly modified near Gamma due to the orbital hybridization with an adsorbed Bi monolayer. Our experimental observations and analysis in combination with density functional theory calculation suggest the importance of controlling the sulfur vacancy concentration in realizing an exotic quantum phase based on the van der Waals interface of Bi and MoS2.