Argonne National Laboratory

Research Highlight | Center for Nanoscale Materials

Unexpected electronic properties revealed in the dichalcogenide, tantalum disulfide (1T-TaS2)
In a Physical Review B paper, researchers address ongoing debate surrounding the electronic properties of tantalum disulfide by employing resonant inelastic X-ray spectroscopy combined with first-principles calculations.
Top: RIXS spectrum at incident energy of 9882 eV. Open red circles are experimental data and solid red line is fit. Individual components of fit corresponding to each energy-loss feature are plotted using dashed lines. Bottom: Fitted peak positions and full widths at half maximum from RIXS spectra.

Scientific Achievement

The insulating state of 1T-TaS2 was found to significantly differ from canonical Mott insulators.

Significance and Impact

The discovery provides insights into the electron localization for 1T-TaS2 and other transition-metal materials that are actively studied due to their proximity to superconductivity leading to potential applications in quasi–two-dimensional electronics.

Research Details

  • Resonant inelastic X-ray spectroscopy and first-principles calculations revealed five electronic excitations arising from the interband transitions of the Ta 5d orbitals and the S 3p ligand state.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.108.205105

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About Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials
The Center for Nanoscale Materials is one of the five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers, premier national user facilities for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale supported by the DOE Office of Science. Together the NSRCs comprise a suite of complementary facilities that provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate, process, characterize and model nanoscale materials, and constitute the largest infrastructure investment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at DOE’s Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories. For more information about the DOE NSRCs, please visit https://​sci​ence​.osti​.gov/​U​s​e​r​-​F​a​c​i​l​i​t​i​e​s​/​U​s​e​r​-​F​a​c​i​l​i​t​i​e​s​-​a​t​-​a​-​G​lance.

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