  Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the misfit
strain-induced buckling of the transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) lateral
heterostructures, denoted by the seamless epitaxial growth of different TMDs
along the in-plane direction. The Stillinger-Weber potential is utilized to
describe both the interaction for each TMD and the coupling between different
TMDs, i.e., MX2 (with M=Mo, W and X=S, Se, Te). It is found that the misfit
strain can induce strong buckling of the free-standing TMD lateral
heterostructures of large area, resulting from the TMDs' atomic-thick nature.
The buckling phenomenon occurs in a variety of TMD lateral heterostructures of
different compositions and in various patterns. Our findings raise a
fundamental mechanical challenge for the structural stability of the
free-standing TMD lateral heterostructures.
