Investigating structural properties of MoTe₂ under uniaxial pressure

Quasi-two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide MoTe₂ has received significant attention since it was reported to be a Weyl semimetal upon cooling from monoclinic 1T’-MoTe₂ to orthorhombic T_d-MoTe₂ phase and due to exhibiting extreme magnetoresistance. The transition temperature between the 1T’ and the T_d phases of MoTe₂ can be tuned by substituting Mo with W or by applying various types of pressure/strain to the crystal. Hydrostatic pressure has been shown to decrease the transition temperature, while tensile strain along the a- or b-axes has been reported to decrease and increase the transition temperature, respectively. The effect of (intentional) non-hydrostatic stresses on MoTe₂, however, has not been studied with diffraction techniques. MoTe₂ is much more compressible along the c-axis than along the a- or b-axes; therefore, changes with uniaxial pressure along the c-axis may be more relevant to the interlayer interactions that give rise to the transition between 1T’ and T_d. The question remains of how uniaxial stress along the c-axis would affect structural properties. In this talk, we will present our neutron diffraction results of MoTe₂ under uniaxial pressure along the c-axis, examining how these conditions impact the material’s structural properties and phase stability.