Direct Transformation of Crystalline MoO3 into Few-Layers MoS2

Materials (Basel). 2020 May 15;13(10):2293. doi: 10.3390/ma13102293.

Abstract

We fabricated large-area atomically thin MoS2 layers through the direct transformation of crystalline molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) by sulfurization at relatively low temperatures. The obtained MoS2 sheets are polycrystalline (~10-20 nm single-crystal domain size) with areas of up to 300 × 300 µm2, 2-4 layers in thickness and show a marked p-type behavior. The synthesized films are characterized by a combination of complementary techniques: Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and electronic transport measurements.

Keywords: 2D materials; molybdenum disulfide (MoS2); molybdenum trioxide (MoO3); sulfuration; synthesis.