Solvent Exfoliation of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides: Dispersibility of Exfoliated Nanosheets Varies Only Weakly between Compounds
Trinity College Dublin · Imperial College London
Abstract
We have studied the dispersion and exfoliation of four inorganic layered compounds, WS(2), MoS(2), MoSe(2), and MoTe(2), in a range of organic solvents. The aim was to explore the relationship between the chemical structure of the exfoliated nanosheets and their dispersibility. Sonication of the layered compounds in solvents generally gave few-layer nanosheets with lateral dimensions of a few hundred nanometers. However, the dispersed concentration varied greatly from solvent to solvent. For all four materials, the concentration peaked for solvents with surface energy close to 70 mJ/m(2), implying that all four have surface energy close to this value. Inverse gas chromatography measurements showed MoS(2) and…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 36.29
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 72
Authors
8Topics & keywords
- Exfoliation joint
- Hildebrand solubility parameter
- Solubility
- Nanosheet
- Inverse gas chromatography
- Materials science
- Solvent
- Dispersion (optics)