Disorder engineering and conductivity dome in ReS₂ with electrolyte gating

摘要

Atomically thin rhenium disulphide (ReS₂) is a member of the transition metal dichalcogenide family of materials. This two-dimensional semiconductor is characterized by weak interlayer coupling and a distorted 1T structure, which leads to anisotropy in electrical and optical properties. Here we report on the electrical transport study of mono- and multilayer ReS₂ with polymer electrolyte gating. We find that the conductivity of monolayer ReS₂ is completely suppressed at high carrier densities, an unusual feature unique to monolayers, making ReS₂ the first example of such a material. Using dual-gated devices, we can distinguish the gate-induced doping from the electrostatic disorder induced by the polymer electrolyte itself. Theoretical calculations and a transport model indicate that the observed conductivity suppression can be explained by a combination of a narrow conduction band and Anderson localization due to electrolyte-induced disorder.