In layered quantum materials, the way individual atomic sheets are stacked on top of one another can profoundly influence the material’s electronic behavior. A research team in China has now shown that this stacking arrangement can be deliberately manipulated, sliding one layer relative to its neighbors, to engineer distinct quantum electronic phases within a single crystal.

Researchers at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, working in collaboration with the Institute of Solid State Physics and Anhui University, developed a layer-sliding strategy in bulk 1T-TaS2 crystals that allows them to construct self-adaptive hetero-phase superlattices. The work, led by Associate Professor Cao Liang, is published in National Science Review.

Sliding Layers to Switch Phases

Tantalum disulfide (TaS2) is a layered material known for hosting a rich variety of electronic phases, including charge-density waves, in which electron density forms a periodic pattern, Mott insulating states, in which strong electron-electron interactions block current flow despite a material’s metallic band structure, and superconductivity, in which electrical resistance drops to zero. Which phase the material exhibits depends sensitively on the local stacking arrangement of its atomic layers.

The research team found that by inducing layer-resolved transformations between the 1T and 1H polytypes of TaS2, they could create periodic superlattice structures within the bulk crystal through controlled interlayer sliding. These self-adaptive hetero-phase superlattices effectively encode different electronic phases into different regions of the same material, determined by how the layers are stacked relative to one another.

The researchers propose that the resulting stacking sequences function as a kind of structural “code” for material design, in which the arrangement of layers itself determines the local electronic properties of the material. This offers a new route for engineering quantum states directly through mechanical control of layer stacking, rather than relying solely on chemical doping or external fields.

The findings, also detailed in a related paper in Nature Communications, add to a growing body of work exploring how stacking order and interlayer sliding can be used as tunable parameters in two-dimensional and layered quantum materials, with implications for the design of future electronic and quantum devices.

Journal: National Science Review
DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwag246
Article Title: Self-adaptive hetero-phase superlattices in TaS2 via layer-resolved 1T-to-1H transformations
Publication Date: 26-Apr-2026
Also published in: Nature Communications