Issue 33, 2019

Sonochemical edge functionalisation of molybdenum disulfide

Abstract

Liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) has been shown to be capable of producing large quantities of high-quality dispersions suitable for processing into subsequent applications. LPE typically requires surfactants for aqueous dispersions or organic solvents with high boiling point. However, they have major drawbacks such as toxicity, aggregation during solvent evaporation or the presence of residues. Here, dispersions of molybdenum disulfide in acetone are prepared and show much higher concentration and stability than predicted by Hansen parameter analysis. Aiming to understand these enhanced properties, the nanosheets were characterised using UV-visible spectroscopy, zeta potential measurements, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning transmission microscopy combined with spatially-resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy. Also, the performance of the MoS2 nanosheets exfoliated in acetone was compared to that of those exfoliated in isopropanol as a catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. The conclusion from the chemical characterisation was that MoS2 nanosheets exfoliated in acetone have an oxygen edge functionalisation, in the form of molybdenum oxides, changing its interaction with solvents and explaining the observed high-quality and stability of the resulting dispersion in a low boiling point solvent. Exfoliation in acetone could potentially be applied as a pretreatment to modify the solubility of MoS2 by edge functionalisation.

Graphical abstract: Sonochemical edge functionalisation of molybdenum disulfide

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Jun 2019
Accepted
03 Aug 2019
First published
05 Aug 2019

Nanoscale, 2019,11, 15550-15560

Sonochemical edge functionalisation of molybdenum disulfide

A. Amorim Graf, M. J. Large, S. P. Ogilvie, Y. Rong, P. J. Lynch, G. Fratta, S. Ray, A. Shmeliov, V. Nicolosi, R. Arenal, A. A. K. King and A. B. Dalton, Nanoscale, 2019, 11, 15550 DOI: 10.1039/C9NR04974F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements