Search

Developing scalable methods of growing two dimensional molybdenum disulphide (2D MoS2) with strong optical properties, on any desired substrates, is a necessary step towards industrial uptake of this material for optical applications. In this study, Si/SiO2 substrates were functionalised using self-assembled monolayers of three different aminosilanes with various numbers of amine groups and molecular lengths as underlayers for enhancing the adherence of the molybdenum precursor. The tetrahedral [MoS4](2-) anion groups from the molybdenum precursor were bonded on these silanised Si/SiO2 substrates afterwards. The substrates were then treated with a combined thermolysis and sulphurisation step. The results showed that silanisation of the substrates using the longest chains and the largest number of amine groups provided a good foundation to grow quasi 2D MoS2 made from adjacent flakes in a mosaic formation. Microscopy and spectroscopy investigations revealed that these quasi 2D MoS2 formed using this long chain aminosilane resulted in flakes with lateral dimensions in micron and submicron ranges composed of adjoining MoS2 pieces of 20 to 60 nm in lateral dimensions, dominantly made of 3 to 5 MoS2 fundamental layers. The obtained quasi 2D MoS2 shows a high internal quantum efficiency of 2.6% associated with the quantum confinement effect and high stoichiometry of the adjoining nanoflakes that form the structure of the sheets. The synthesis technique in this study is reliable and facile and offers a procedure to form large, scalable and patternable quasi 2D MoS2 sheets on various substrates with enhanced optical properties for practical applications.

Substoichiometric molybdenum disulphide (MoSx) nanosheets are successfully synthesised following a novel reductive route using hydrazine salts. The resulting two dimensional crystals are found to be highly monodispersed in thickness, forming exclusively 1.9 ± 0.2 nm thick bilayers. The lateral dimensions of the nanosheets are governed by the precursor bulk particle's size. Exploring a range of hydrazine derivatives with various degrees of steric hindrance leads to the conclusion that intercalation does not occur during the process and that exfoliation is instead facilitated by the reduction of Mo centres leading to the exfoliation of substoichiometric bilayers with distorted lattices. The lattice distortion is found to be persistent across all samples with XPS analysis pointing towards a S to Mo ratio of 1.2. The resulting material features an electronic bandgap of 2.1 eV, which is wider than that of pristine monolayer MoS2 with relatively longer radiative decay time.

A surfactant assisted technique has been used to promote the exfoliation of molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) in a water-ethanol mixture, to avoid the use of harsh organic solvents, whilst still producing sufficient concentration of MoS2 in suspension. The exfoliated flakes are converted into MoS2 quantum dots (QDs), through a hydrothermal procedure. Alternatively, when the flakes are processed with precursors for zinc sulphide (ZnS) synthesis, a simultaneous break-down and composite growth is achieved. The products are separated by centrifugation, into large ZnS spheres (200-300 nm) and small MoS2-ZnS hybrid QD materials (