  At the few-atom-thick limit, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit
a host of attractive electronic optical, and structural properties. The
possibility to pattern these properties has a great impact on applied and
fundamental research. Here, we demonstrate spatial control over the light
emission, lattice deformation, and hydrogen storage in bulk TMDs. By low-energy
proton irradiation, we create uniquely favorable conditions for the production
and accumulation of molecular hydrogen just one or few monolayers beneath the
crystal basal plane of bulk WS2, WSe2, WTe2, MoSe2, and MoS2 samples. H2
therein produced coalesces to form bubbles, which lead to the localized
swelling of one X-M-X plane prevalently. This results eventually in the
creation of atomically thin domes filled with molecular hydrogen at 10 atm. The
domes emit light strongly well above room temperature and can store H2
indefinitely. They can be produced with the desired density, well-ordered
positions, and size tunable from the nanometer to the micrometer scale, thus
providing a template for the manageable and durable mechanical and electronic
structuring of two-dimensional materials.
