Epitaxial growth of atomically thick WSe₂ nanoribbons

In this work, we reported on the synthesis of atomically thick WSe₂ nanoribbons with straight edges and a maximum lateral size of 85 μm on SiO₂/Si substrates via a one-step chemical vapour deposition. Optical microscope, atomic force microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were used to characterize the morphologies and chemical composition of the as-grown WSe₂ nanoribbons. Photoluminescence spectra and Raman spectra indicated that the interlayer coupling may be varied with different stacking manner. A vapour–liquid–solid mechanism was proposed to rationalize the formation of WSe₂ nanoribbons. Moreover, we showed that WSe₂ nanoribbons could also be grown on MoSe₂ flakes with the same approach, demonstrating the extendibility of this strategy. Our work provides an efficient method to obtain WSe₂ nanoribbons for novel application in catalysts and electronic devices.