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

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 degrees C. The as-processed SPs greatly affected the formation of the MoS2 NPs after low-activity sulphur (S-8)(n) was reassembled from common SPs (S-8). 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.National Natural Science Foundation of China [51573004, 91333107]; Natural Science Foundation of Beijing City [Z160002]; "Thousand Talents" program of ChinaSCI(E)ARTICLE81