Low-Temperature Synthesis of Near-Monodisperse Globular MoS2 Nanoparticles with Sulphur Powders

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) with high uniformity have been extensively investigated for their excellent chemical stability. Near-monodisperse globular MoS2 NPs were prepared with sulphur powders (SPs) as a sulphur source by a one-pot polyol-mediated process without surfactants, transfer agents and toxic agents at 170–190 ℃. The as-processed SPs greatly affected the formation of the MoS2 NPs after low-activity sulphur (S8)n was reassembled from common SPs (S8). The average size of MoS2 NPs can be reduced remarkably from 100–200 nm to 50 nm by introducing low amounts of MnCl2. A preliminary four-step growth mechanism based on the aggregation-coalescence model was also proposed. This green and simple method may be an alternative to the common hot-injection and heating-up methods for the preparation of monodisperse NPs, particularly transition metal dichalogenides.