Origin of the phase transition in lithiated molybdenum disulfide

Phase transitions and phase engineering in two-dimensional MoS2 are important for applications in electronics and energy storage. By in situ transmission electron microscopy, we find that H-MoS2 transforms to T-LiMoS2 at the early stages of lithiation followed by the formation of Mo and Li2S phases. The transition from H-MoS2 to T-LiMoS2 is explained in terms of electron doping and electron-phonon coupling at the conduction band minima. Both are essential for the development of two-dimensional semiconductor-metal contacts based on MoS2 and the usage of MoS2 as anode material in Li ion batteries.