Ab initio computation of low-temperature miscibility gap of V(Se,Te)₂

Abstract Monolayers of quasi-binary transition metal dichalcogenides are a focus of attention as they are expected to exhibit many exciting physical properties, but not much is known about their thermodynamic stability. In this study, we use a combination of global energy landscape exploration, local minimization using density functional theory, and thermodynamic analysis, to compute the composition-temperature phase diagram of the quasi-binary V(Se,Te)₂ system, both for a 2H monolayer and for the analogous bulk material. We find that the phase diagram exhibits a miscibility gap, with a critical temperature T _c = 500 K and T _c = 650 K for monolayer and bulk, respectively, indicating that the system prefers to form solid solution phases. In particular, at room temperature, the thermodynamically stable phase of the monolayer would correspond to a decomposition into two solid solution monolayers, with ca. 90% Se and Te content, respectively.