Mechanical exfoliation and characterization of 2D materials

Abstract

In this work, mechanical exfoliation of two-dimensional materials has been performed through the “scotch-tape” method with the objective of producing few-layer flakes and characterize them via optical and atomic force microscopy. The studied materials were MoS2 and PtSe2 and the substrate used for characterization was Si coated with SiOX. MoS2 showed good adhesion to the substrate and some few-layer flakes were obtained and analysed, with results suggesting a correlation between both methods of characterization. On the other hand, PtSe2 exhibited poor adhesion onto the substrate and flakes were thick and broken unevenly, making it very difficult to characterize, indicating that alternative methods for producing flakes, or other substrates for their transfer should be explored in order to achieve better results for this material.