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Abstract Transition metal trichalcogenides (TMTs) are two-dimensional (2D) systems with quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) chains. These 2D materials are less susceptible to undesirable edge defects, which enhances their promise for low-dimensional optical and electronic device applications. However, so far, the performance of 2D devices based on TMTs has been hampered by contact-related issues. Therefore, in this review, a diligent effort has been made to both elucidate and summarize the interfacial interactions between gold and various TMTs, namely, In₄Se₃, TiS₃, ZrS₃, HfS₃, and HfSe₃. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy data, supported by the results of electrical transport measurements, provide insights into the nature of interactions at the Au/In₄Se₃, Au/TiS₃, Au/ZrS₃, Au/HfS₃, and Au/HfSe₃interfaces. This may help identify and pave a path toward resolving the contemporary contact-related problems that have plagued the performance of TMT-based nanodevices. Graphical abstract I–Vcharacteristics of (a) TiS3, (b) ZrS3, and (c) HfS3 

Few-layered HfS₃nanoribbons exhibit n-type conductivity and a large photoresponse to visible light. The photocurrent strongly depends on the polarization direction of the excitation laser due to the highly anisotropic quasi-1D crystal structure of HfS₃. 

Abstract The presence of in-plane chiral effects, hence spin–orbit coupling, is evident in the changes in the photocurrent produced in a TiS 3 (001) field-effect phototransistor with left versus right circularly polarized light. The direction of the photocurrent is protected by the presence of strong spin–orbit coupling and the anisotropy of the band structure as indicated in NanoARPES measurements. Dark electronic transport measurements indicate that TiS 3 is n-type and has an electron mobility in the range of 1–6 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . I – V measurements under laser illumination indicate the photocurrent exhibits a bias directionality dependence, reminiscent of bipolar spin diode behavior. Because the TiS 3 contains no heavy elements, the presence of spin–orbit coupling must be attributed to the observed loss of inversion symmetry at the TiS 3 (001) surface. 

The growing demand of society for gas sensors for energy-efficient environmental sensing stimulates studies of new electronic materials. Here, we investigated quasi-one-dimensional titanium trisulfide (TiS3) crystals for possible applications in chemiresistors and on-chip multisensor arrays. TiS3 nanoribbons were placed as a mat over a multielectrode chip to form an array of chemiresistive gas sensors. These sensors were exposed to isopropanol as a model analyte, which was mixed with air at low concentrations of 1–100 ppm that are below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit. The tests were performed at room temperature (RT), as well as with heating up to 110 °C, and under an ultraviolet (UV) radiation at λ = 345 nm. We found that the RT/UV conditions result in a n-type chemiresistive response to isopropanol, which seems to be governed by its redox reactions with chemisorbed oxygen species. In contrast, the RT conditions without a UV exposure produced a p-type response that is possibly caused by the enhancement of the electron transport scattering due to the analyte adsorption. By analyzing the vector signal from the entire on-chip multisensor array, we could distinguish isopropanol from benzene, both of which produced similar responses on individual sensors. We found that the heating up to 110 °C reduces both the sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor array. 

X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) has been used to examine the interaction between Au and HfS 3 at the Au/HfS 3 interface. XPS measurements reveal dissociative chemisorption of O 2 , leading to the formation of an oxide of Hf at the surface of HfS 3 . This surface hafnium oxide, along with the weakly chemisorbed molecular species, such as O 2 and H 2 O, are likely responsible for the observed p-type characteristics of HfS 3 reported elsewhere. HfS 3 devices exhibit n-type behaviour if measured in vacuum but turn p-type in air. Au thickness-dependent XPS measurements provide clear evidence of band bending as the S 2p and Hf 4f core-level peak binding energies for Au/HfS 3 are found to be shifted to higher binding energies. This band bending implies formation of a Schottky-barrier at the Au/HfS 3 interface, which explains the low measured charge carrier mobilities of HfS 3 -based devices. The transistor measurements presented herein also indicate the existence of a Schottky barrier, consistent with the XPS core-level binding energy shifts, and show that the bulk of HfS 3 is n-type.