Liquid-Phase Exfoliation of 2D-MoS₂ Nanostructures at Varying Sonication Times and Their Subsequent Analysis

Abstract

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have been a topic of research for decades now, owing to the significant change in their overall properties when brought down to the nanoscale. Among these, 2D-MoS₂ has been of special interest and been studied thoroughly over the years. 2D-MoS₂ is a direct bandgap semiconductor with tunable properties. However, effectively producing high-quality MoS₂ nanomaterials on a large scale remains a challenge. This study employs liquid-phase exfoliation in an attempt to obtain pristine 2D-MoS₂ structures efficiently. The nanomaterials were synthesized from their bulk form in a mixture of acetone and isopropanol, which are solvents with high solubility and low boiling points. The prepared mixture of MoS₂ and the solvents was then ultrasonicated for different periods of time in a bath sonicator. Further, the samples were subjected to UV irradiation at short wavelength. They were then centrifuged for a specific time interval. Finally, the exfoliated samples were characterized using FE-SEM, XRD, and Raman for further analysis.