Controllable growth of wafer-scale PdS and PdS₂ nanofilms via chemical vapor deposition combined with an electron beam evaporation technique

Palladium (Pd)-based sulfides have triggered extensive interest due to their unique properties and potential applications in the fields of electronics and optoelectronics. However, the synthesis of large-scale uniform PdS and PdS2 nanofilms (NFs) remains an enormous challenge. In this work, 2-inch wafer-scale PdS and PdS2 NFs with excellent stability can be controllably prepared via chemical vapor deposition combined with electron beam evaporation technique. The thickness of the pre-deposited Pd film and the sulfurization temperature are critical for the precise synthesis of PdS and PdS2 NFs. A corresponding growth mechanism has been proposed based on our experimental results and Gibbs free energy calculations. The electrical transport properties of PdS and PdS2 NFs were explored by conductive atomic force microscopy. Our findings have achieved the controllable growth of PdS and PdS2 NFs, which may provide a pathway to facilitate PdS and PdS2 based applications for next-generation high performance optoelectronic devices.