Photoconductivity of acid exfoliated and flash-light-processed MoS2 films

MoS2 has been studied intensively during recent years as a semiconducting material in several fields, including optoelectronics, for applications such as solar cells and phototransistors. The photoresponse mechanisms of MoS2 have been discussed but are not fully understood, especially the phenomenon in which the photocurrent slowly increases. Here, we report on a study of the photoresponse flash-light-processed MoS2 films of different thicknesses and areas. The photoresponse of such films under different light intensities and bias voltages was measured, showing significant current changes with a quick response followed by a slow one upon exposure to pulsed light. Our in-depth study suggested that the slow response was due to the photothermal effect that heats the MoS2; this hypothesis was supported by the resistivity change at different temperatures. The results obtained from MoS2 films with various thicknesses indicated that the minority-carrier diffusion length was 1.36 mu m. This study explained the mechanism of the slow response of the MoS2 film and determined the effective thickness of MoS2 for a photoresponse to occur. The method used here for fabricating MoS2 films could be used for fabricating optoelectronic devices due to its simplicity

Exfoliated MoS2 in Water without Additives

Many solution processing methods of exfoliation of layered materials have been studied during the last few years; most of them are based on organic solvents or rely on surfactants andother funtionalization agents. Pure water should be an ideal solvent, however, it is generallybelieved, based on solubility theories that stable dispersions of water could not be achievedand systematic studies are lacking. Here we describe the use of water as a solvent and thestabilization process involved therein. We introduce an exfoliation method of molybdenumdisulfide (MoS2) in pure water at high concentration (i.e., 0.14±0.01 g L−1). This was achieved by thinning the bulk MoS2by mechanical exfoliation between sand papers and dis-persing it by liquid exfoliation through probe sonication in water. We observed thin MoS2nanosheets in water characterized by TEM, AFM and SEM images. The dimensions of thenanosheets were around 200 nm, the same range obtained in organic solvents. Electropho-retic mobility measurements indicated that electrical charges may be responsible for the sta-bilization of the dispersions. A probability decay equation was proposed to compare thestability of these dispersions with the ones reported in the literature. Water can be used as asolvent to disperse nanosheets and although the stability of the dispersions may not be ashigh as in organic solvents, the present method could be employed for a number of applications where the dispersions can be produced on site and organic solvents are not desirable.Paper Solar Cell

Enhanced catalytic activity in strained chemically exfoliated WS 2 nanosheets for hydrogen evolution

10.1038/nmat3700Nature Materials129850-855NMAA