Johnson , DavidChoffel, Marisa2022-02-182022-02-182022-02-18https://hdl.handle.net/1794/27056New materials are essential for continued technological advancements, but synthesizing new materials remains a significant challenge. The modulated elemental reactants synthesis approach provides tunable parameters to design heterostructures. This dissertation focuses on the interplay of these parameters with reaction pathways, which resulted in the synthesis of a new binary (Mn-Se) compound and of Bi2Se3 and BiSe containing heterostructures. The first section of the dissertation focused on how the local composition of the precursor affected the reaction pathways of various systems. A previously unreported kinetic product containing Mn and Se was found depending on the composition of the precursor. Layer thickness was not a contributing factor to the formation. Based on the hypothesis that local composition has the most impact on what nucleates, synthesizing heterostructures containing Bi2Se3 were attempted. Substituent-like effects were observed as a result of the competition between the formation of Bi2Se3 or BiSe depending on the electrical properties of the neighboring layer. Understanding how the electrical properties and charge transfer affected the formation of the Bi-M-Se heterostructures was vital for the rest of the dissertation. The remainder of this dissertation focused on investigating the charge transfer between BiSe and neighboring layers. Charge transfer from the BiSe to the MoSe2 layer, which resulted in the formation of a kinetic 1T-MoSe2 polymorph, was previously observed in (BiSe)0.97(MoSe2). (BiSe)1+x(Bi2Se3)1+y(BiSe)1+x(MoSe2) was first synthesized to determine the impact of two BiSe layers on the change in MoSe2 polymorph and metallic temperature dependent resistivity was observed. Charge transfer to the Bi2Se3 conduction band was observed in (Bi2Se3)1+y(BiSe)1+x(MoSe2), instead of 1T-MoSe2. These heterostructures examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to probe the BiSe stabilization. An unprecedented difference in the BiSe structure in [(BiSe)1+x(MoSe2)3] prompted an investigation on the importance of the local composition during the initial heating. (BiSe)1+x(MoSe2)n heterostructures were synthesized to probe the structure-property relationship of one BiSe layer with multiple MoSe2 layers to further probe the charge transfer. This investigation has opened new avenues of research both in the Bi-Mo-Se ternary phase diagram and in the importance of understanding reaction mechanisms and tunable parameters to better design and control the formation of desired products.en-USAll Rights Reserved.Electronic Thesis or Dissertation