Phonon Dispersions in WS2

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the phonon dispersions in bulk 2H-WS2 by means of inelastic x-ray scattering and density functional perturbation theory. Our findings highlight the two-dimensional character of the lattice dynamics in this van-der-Waals system and indicate the significance of the bulk phonon measurements for the monolayer counterpart. The agreement between the simulated phonon scattering factors and the experimentally measured phonon spectra allow to map an extensive part of the phonon dispersions along high-symmetry crystallographic directions and serve as a reference for future experiments under variable experimental conditions.