Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Review Article
  • Published:

The chemistry of two-dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets

Nature Chemistry volume 5, pages 263–275 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Ultrathin two-dimensional nanosheets of layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are fundamentally and technologically intriguing. In contrast to the graphene sheet, they are chemically versatile. Mono- or few-layered TMDs — obtained either through exfoliation of bulk materials or bottom-up syntheses — are direct-gap semiconductors whose bandgap energy, as well as carrier type (n- or p-type), varies between compounds depending on their composition, structure and dimensionality. In this Review, we describe how the tunable electronic structure of TMDs makes them attractive for a variety of applications. They have been investigated as chemically active electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and hydrosulfurization, as well as electrically active materials in opto-electronics. Their morphologies and properties are also useful for energy storage applications such as electrodes for Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Structure of monolayered TMDs.
Figure 2: d-Orbital filling and electronic character of various TMDs.
Figure 3: Chemical exfoliation of monolayered TMDs.
Figure 4: Chemical vapour deposition of ultrathin TMDs.
Figure 5: Surface chemistry probed by adsorption of DBT.
Figure 6: Hydrogen evolution reaction catalysis with TMDs.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Novoselov, K. S. et al. Electric field effect in atomically thin carbon film. Science 306, 666–669 (2004).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Castro Neto, A. H., Guinea, F., Peres, N. M. R., Novoselov, K. S. & Geim, A. K. The electronic properties of graphene. Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 109–162 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Geim, A. K. Graphene: Status and prospects. Science 324, 1530–1534 (2009).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Wang, Q. H., Kalantar-Zadeh, K., Kis, A., Coleman, J. N. & Strano, M. S. Electronics and opto-electronics of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides. Nature Nanotech. 7, 699–712 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Mak, K. F., Lee, C., Hone, J., Shan, J. & Heinz, T. F. Atomically thin MoS2: A new direct-gap semiconductor. Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 136805 (2010).

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Splendiani, A. et al. Emerging photoluminescence in monolayer MoS2 . Nano Lett. 10, 1271–1275 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Cao, T. et al. Valley-selective circular dichroism of monolayer molybdenum disulphide. Nature Commun. 3, 887 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Zeng, H., Dai, J., Yao, W., Xiao, D. & Cui, X. Valley polarization in MoS2 monolayers by optical pumping. Nature Nanotech. 7, 490–493 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Mak, K. F., He, K., Shan, J. & Heinz, T. F. Control of valley polarization in monolayer MoS2 by optical helicity. Nature Nanotech. 7, 494–498 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Li, H. et al. Optical identification of single- and few-layer MoS2 sheets. Small 8, 682–686 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Eda, G. et al. Photoluminescence from chemically exfoliated MoS2 . Nano Lett. 11, 5111–5116 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Eda, G., Fujita, T., Yamaguchi, H., Voiry, D., Chen, M. W. & Chhowalla, M. Coherent atomic and electronic heterostructures of single-layer MoS2 . ACS Nano 6, 7311–7317 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Yin, Z. et al. Single-layer MoS2 phototransistors. ACS Nano 6, 74–80 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Castellanos-Gomez, A. et al. Laser-thinning of MoS2: On demand generation of a single-layer semiconductor. Nano Lett. 12, 3187–3192 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Feng, J. et al. Giant moisture responsiveness of VS2 ultrathin nanosheets for novel touchless positioning interface. Adv. Mater. 24, 1969–1974 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Matte, H. S. S. et al. MoS2 and WS2 analogues of graphene. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49, 4059–4062 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Li, H. et al. Fabrication of single- and multilayer MoS2 film-based field effect transistors for sensing NO at room temperature. Small 8, 63–67 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Loh, K. P., Bao, Q. L., Eda, G. & Chhowalla, M. Graphene oxide as a chemically tuneable platform for optical applications. Nature Chem. 2, 1015–1024 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Sipos, B. et al. From Mott state to superconductivity in 1T-TaS2 . Nature Mater. 7, 960–965 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Gordon, R. A., Yang, D., Crozier, E. D., Jiang, D. T. & Frindt, R. F. Structures of exfoliated single layers of WS2, MoS2, and MoSe2 in aqueous suspension. Phys. Rev. B 65, 125407 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Kuc, A., Zibouche, N. & Heine, T. Influence of quantum confinement on the electronic structure of the transition metal sulfide TS2 . Phys. Rev. B 83, 245213 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Wilson, J. A., Di Salvo, F. J. & Mahajan, S. Charge-density waves and superlattices in the metallic layered transition metal dichalcogenides. Adv. Phys. 24, 117–201 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Meyer, J. C., Geim, A. G., Katnelson, M. I., Novoselov, K. S. & Roth, S. The structure of suspended graphene sheets. Nature 446, 60–63 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Bertolazzi, S., Brivio, J. & Kis, A. Stretching and breaking of ultrathin MoS2 . ACS Nano 5, 9703–9709 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Wilson, J. A. & Yoffe, A. D. The transition metal dichalcogenides discussion and interpretation of optical, electrical and structural properties. Adv. Phys. 18, 193–335 (1969).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Bissessur, R., Kanatzidis, M. G., Schindler, J. L. & Kannewurf, C. R. Encapsulation of polymers into MoS2 and metal to insulator transition in metastable MoS2 . J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. 1582–1585 (1993).

  27. Frindt, R. F. & Yoffe, A. D. Physical properties of layer structures: Optical properties and photoconductivity of thin crystals of molybdenum disulphide. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 273, 69–83 (1963).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Py, M. A. & Haering, R. R., Structural destabilization induced by lithium intercalation in MoS2 and related-compounds. Can. J. Phys. 61, 76–84 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Ganal, P., Olberding, W. & Butz, T. Soft chemistry induced host metal coordination change from octahedral to trigonal prismatic 1T-TaS2 . Solid State Ionics 59, 313–319 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Lorenz, T., Teich, D., Joswig, J. O. & Seifert, G. Theoretical study of mechanical behavior of individual TiS2 and MoS2 nanotubes. J. Phys. Chem. C 116, 11714–11721 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Castro Neto, A. H. Charge density wave, superconductivity, and anomalous metallic behavior in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 4382–4385 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Heising, J. & Kanatzidis, M. G. Exfoliated and restacked MoS2 and WS2: Ionic or neutral species? Encapsulation and ordering of hard electropositive cations. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 121, 11720–11732 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Castro Neto, A. H. & Novoselov, K. Two dimensional crystals: Beyond graphene. Mater. Exp. 1, 10–17 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Tongay, S. et al. Thermally driven crossover from indirect toward direct bandgap in 2D semiconductors: MoSe2 versus MoS2 . Nano Lett. 12, 5576–5580 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Zhao, W. et al. Evolution of electronic structure in atomically thin sheets of WS2 and WSe2 . ACS Nano 7, 791–797 (2013).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Xiao, D., Liu, G.-B., Feng, W., Xu, X. & Yao, W. Coupled spin and valley physics in monolayers of MoS2 and other group-VI dichalcogenides. Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 196802 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Joensen, P., Frindt, R. F. & Morrison, S. R. Single-layer MoS2 . Mater. Res. Bull. 21, 457–461 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Dines, M. B. Lithium intercalation via n-butyllithium of layered transition-metal dichalcogenides. Mater. Res. Bull. 10, 287–291 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Benavente, E., Santa Ana, M. A., Mendizabal, F. & Gonzalez, G. Intercalation chemistry of molybdenum disulfide. Coord. Chem. Rev. 224, 87–109 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Golub, A. S., Zubavichus, Y. V., Slovokhotov, Y. L. & Novikov, Y. N. Single-layer dispersions of transition metal dichalcogenides in the synthesis of intercalation compounds. Russian Chem. Rev. 72, 123–141 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Coleman, J. N. et al. Two-dimensional nanosheets produced by liquid exfoliation of layered materials. Science 331, 568–571 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Zeng, Z. Y. et al. Single-layer semiconducting nanosheets: High-yield preparation and device fabrication. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50, 11093–11097 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Zhou, K.-G., Mao, N.-N., Wang, H.-X., Peng, Y. & Zhang, H.-L. A mixed-solvent strategy for efficient exfoliation of inorganic graphene analogues. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50, 10839–10842 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Cunningham, G. et al. Solvent exfoliation of transition metal dichalcogenides: Dispersibility of exfoliated nanosheets varies only weakly between compounds. ACS Nano 6, 3468–3480 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Smith, R. J. et al. Large-scale exfoliation of inorganic layered compounds in aqueous surfactant solutions. Adv. Mater. 23, 3944–3948 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. May, P., Khan, U., Hughes, J. M. & Coleman, J. N. Role of solubility parameters in understanding the steric stabilization of exfoliated two-dimensional nanosheets by adsorbed polymers. J. Phys. Chem. C 116, 11393–11400 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Zeng, Z. et al. An effective method for the fabrication of few-layer-thick inorganic nanosheets. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 51, 9052–9056 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Hernandez, Y. et al. High-yield production of graphene by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite. Nature Nanotech. 3, 563–568 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Zhi, C., Bando, Y., Tang, C., Kuwahara, H. & Goldberg, D. Large scale fabrication of boron nitrode nanosheets and their utilization in polymeric composites with improved thermal and mechanical properties. Adv. Mater. 21, 2889–2893 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. O'Neill, A., Khan, U. & Coleman, J. N. Preparation of high concentration dispersions of exfoliated MoS2 with increased flake size. Chem. Mater. 24, 2414–2421 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Li, X. et al. Large-area synthesis of high-quality and uniform graphene films on copper foils. Science 324, 1312–1314 (2009).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Bae, S. et al. Roll-to-roll production of 30-inch graphene films for transparent electrodes. Nature Nanotech. 5, 574–578 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Liu, K.-K. et al. Growth of large-area and highly crystalline MoS2 thin layers on insulating substrates. Nano Lett. 12, 1538–1544 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Lee, H. S. et al. MoS2 Nanosheet phototransistors with thickness-modulated optical energy gap. Nano Lett. 12, 3695–3700 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Shi, Y. et al. Van der waals epitaxy of MoS2 layers using graphene as growth templates. Nano Lett. 12, 2784–2791 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Zhan, Y., Liu, Z., Najmaei, S., Ajayan, P. M. & Lou, J. Large-area vapor-phase growth and characterization of MoS2 atomic layers on a SiO2 substrate. Small 8, 966–971 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Lee, Y.-H. et al. Synthesis of large-area MoS2 atomic layers with chemical vapor deposition. Adv. Mater. 24, 2320–2325 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Salmeron, M., Somorjai, G. A. & Chianelli R. R. A LEED-AES study of the structure of sulfur monolayers on the Mo(100) crystal face. Surf. Sci. 127, 526–540 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Wilson, J. M. LEED and AES study of the interaction of H2S and Mo (100). Surf. Sci. 53, 330–340 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Lin, Y.-C. et al. Wafer-scale MoS2 thin layers prepared by MoO3 sulfurization. Nanoscale 4, 6637–6641 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Jager-waldau, A., Lux-steiner, M., Jager-waldau, R., Burkhardt, R. & Bucher, E. Composition and morphology of MoSe2 thin films. Thin Solid Films 189, 339–345 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Genut, M., Margulis, L., Tenne, R. & Hodes, G. Effect of substrate on growth of WS2 thin films. Thin Solid Films 219, 30–36 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. Ennaoui, A., Fiechter, S., Ellmer, K., Scheer, R. & Diesner, K. Preparation of textured and photoactive 2H-WS2 thin films by sulfurization of WO3 . Thin Solid Films 261, 124–131 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  64. Boscher, N. D., Carmalt, C. J., Palgrave, R. G., Gil-Tomas, J. J. & Parkin. I. P. Atmospheric pressure CVD of molybdenum diselenide films on glass. Chem. Vapor. Depos. 12, 692–698 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  65. Carmalt, C. J., Parkin, I. P. & Peters. E. S. Atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition of WS2 thin films on glass. Polyhedron 22, 1499–4505 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Boscher, N. D., Carmalt, C. J. & Parkin. I. P. Atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition of WSe2 thin films on glass–highly hydrophobic sticky surfaces. J. Mater. Chem. 16, 122–127 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. Boscher, N. D., Blackman, C. S., Carmalt, C. J., Parkin, I. P. & Prieto. A. G. Atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition of vanadium diselenide thin films. Appl. Surf. Sci. 253, 6041–6046 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Peters, E. S., Carmalt, C. J. & Parkin, I. P. Dual-source chemical vapour deposition of titanium sulfide thin films from tetrakisdimethylamidotitanium and sulfur precursors. J. Mater. Chem. 14, 3474–3477 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. Lauritsen, J. V. et al. Size-dependent structure of MoS2 nanocrystals. Nature Nanotech. 2, 53–58 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Tuxen, A. et al. Size threshold in the dibenzothiophene adsorption on MoS2 nanoclusters. ACS NANO 4, 4677–4682 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  71. Lauritsen, J. V. Location and coordination of promoter atoms in Co- and Ni-Promoted MoS2-based hydrotreating catalysts. J. Catal. 249, 220–233 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  72. Merki, D., Vrubel, H., Rovelli, L., Fierro, S. & Hu, X. Fe, Co, and Ni ions promote the catalytic activity of amorphous molybdenum sulfide films for hydrogen evolution. Chem. Sci. 2, 2515–2525 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  73. Greeley, J. et al. Computational high-throughput screening of electrocatalytic materials for hydrogen evolution. Nature Mater. 5, 909–913 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  74. Laursen, L. B., Kegnæs, S., Dahla, S. & Chorkendorff, I. Molybdenum sulfides efficient and viable materials for electro- and photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Energy Environ. Sci. 5, 5577–5591 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  75. Li, Y. et al. MoS2 nanoparticles grown on graphene: an advanced catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133, 7296–7299 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  76. Li, T. & Galli, G. Electronic properties of MoS2 nanoparticles. J. Phys. Chem. C 111, 16192–16196 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  77. Merki, D. et al. Amorphous molybdenum sulfide films as catalysts for electrochemical hydrogen production in water. Chem. Sci. 2, 1262–1267 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  78. Norskov, J. K. et al. Trends in the exchange current for hydrogen evolution. J. Electrochem. Chem. 152, J23–J26 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  79. Nørskov, J. K., Bligaard, T., Rossmeisl, J. & Christensen, C. H. Towards the computational design of solid catalysts. Nature Chem. 1, 37–46 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  80. Greeley, J. et al. Computational high-throughput screening of electrocatalytic materials for hydrogen evolution. Nature Mater. 5, 909–913 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  81. Bonde, J. et al. Hydrogen evolution on nano-particulate transition metal sulfides. Faraday Discuss. 140, 219–231 (2008).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  82. Jaramillo, T. F. et al. Identification of active edge sites for electrochemical H2 evolution from MoS2 nanocatalysts. Science 317, 100–102 (2007).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  83. Karunadasa, H. I. et al. A molecular MoS2 edge site mimic for catalytic hydrogen generation, Science 335, 698–702 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  84. Chang, Y.-H. et al. Highly efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen production by MoSx grown on graphene-protected 3D Ni foams. Adv. Mater. 25, 756–760 (2013).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  85. Wilcoxon, J. P. & Samara G. A. Strong quantum-size effects in a layered semiconductor: MoS2 nanoclusters. Phys. Rev. B 51, 7200 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  86. Xiang, Q., Yu, J. & Jaroniec, M. Synergetic effect of MoS2 and graphene as cocatalysts for enhanced photocatalytic H2 production activity of TiO2 nanoparticles. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 6575–6578 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  87. Zhou, W. J. et al. Synthesis of few-layer MoS2 nanosheet-coated TiO2 nanobelt heterostructures for enhanced photocatalytic activities. Small 9, 140–147 (2013).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  88. Haering, R. R., Stiles, J. A. R. & Brandt, K. Lithium molybdenum disulphide battery cathode. US Patent 4224390 (1980).

  89. Bhandavat, R., David, L. & Singh, G. Synthesis of surface-functionalized WS2 nanosheets and performance as Li-ion battery anodes. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 3, 1523–1530 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  90. Chang, K., Chen, W. L-Cysteine-assisted synthesis of layered MoS2/graphene composites with excellent electrochemical properties for lithium ion batteries. ACS Nano 5, 4720–4728 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  91. Chang, K. & Chen, W. In situ synthesis of MoS2/graphene nanosheet composites with extraordinarily high electrochemical performance for lithium ion batteries. Chem. Commun. 47, 4252–4254 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  92. Feng, C. Q. et al. Synthesis of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) for lithium ion battery applications. Mater. Res. Bull. 44, 1811–1815 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  93. Ding, S., Zhang, D., Chen, J. S. & Lou, X. W. Facile synthesis of hierarchical MoS2 microspheres composed of few-layered nanosheets and their lithium storage properties. Nanoscale 4, 95–98 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  94. Zhang, C., Wang, Z., Guo, Z. & Lou, X. W. Synthesis of MoS2-C one-dimensional nanostructures with improved Lithium storage properties. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 4, 3765–3768 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  95. Ding, S., Chen, J. S. & Lou, X. W. Glucose-assisted growth of MoS2 nanosheets on CNT backbone for improved Lithium storage properties. Chem. Euro. J. 17, 13142–13145 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  96. Zhang, C., Wu, H. B., Guo, Z. & Lou, X. W. Facile synthesis of carbon-coated MoS2 nanorods with enhanced lithium storage properties. Electrochem. Comm. 20, 7–10 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  97. Chang, K. & Chen, W. L-Cysteine-assisted synthesis of layered MoS2/graphene composites with excellent electrochemical performances for lithium ion batteries. ACS Nano 5, 4720–4728 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  98. Chang, K. & Chen, W. In situ synthesis of MoS2/graphene nanosheet composites with extraordinarily high electrochemical performance for lithium ion batteries. Chem. Comm. 47, 4252–4254 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  99. Radisavljevic, B., Radenovic, A., Brivio, J., Giacometti, V. & Kis, A. Single-layer MoS2 transistors. Nature Nanotech. 6, 147–150 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  100. Radisavljevic, B., Whitwick, M. B. & Kis, A. Integrated circuits and logic operations based on single-layer MoS2 . ACS Nano 5, 9934–9938 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  101. Zhang, Y., Ye, J., Matsuhashi, Y. & Iwasa, Y. Ambipolar MoS2 thin flake transistors. Nano Lett. 12, 1136–1140 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  102. Liu, L., Kumar, S. B., Ouyang, Y. & Gou, J. Performance limits of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide transistors. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 58, 3042–3047 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  103. Kaasbjerg, K., Thygesen, K. S. & Jacobsen, K. W. Phonon-limited mobility in n-type single-layer MoS2 from first principles. Phys. Rev. B 85, 115317 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  104. Lee, K. et al. Electrical characteristics of molybdenum disulfide flakes produced by liquid exfoliation. Adv. Mater. 23, 4178–4182 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  105. Late, D. J., Liu, B., Matte, H. S. S. R., Dravid, V. P. & Rao, C. N. R. Hysteresis in single-layer MoS2 field effect transistors. ACS Nano 6, 5635–5641 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  106. Fang, H. et al. High-performance single layered WSe2 p-FETs with chemically doped contacts. Nano Lett. 12, 3788–3792 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  107. Wang, H. et al. Integrated circuits based on bilayer MoS2 transistors. Nano Lett. 12, 4674–4670 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  108. Pu, J. et al. Highly flexible MoS2 thin-film transistors with ion gel dielectrics. Nano Lett. 12, 4013–4017 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  109. Lee, S. H. et al. MoS2 phototransistors with thickness-modulated optical energy gap. Nano Lett. 12, 3695–3700 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

M.C. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation IGERT programme (DGE 0903661). H.Z. acknowledges support from the Singapore National Research Foundation under the CREATE programme: 'Nanomaterials for Energy and Water Management', and NTU under the Start-Up Grant M4080865.070.706022. H.S.S. acknowledges support from WCU (World Class University) programme (R31-2008-000-20012-0) and the grant (Code No. 2011-0031630) from the Center for Advanced Soft Electronics under the Global Frontier Research Program through the National Research Foundation funded by MEST of Korea. G.E. acknowledges the Singapore National Research Foundation for NRF Research Fellowship (NRF-NRFF2011-02). L.L. acknowledges support from Academia Sinica Taiwan. We acknowledge Jieun Yang for editorial help and TOC artwork. K.P.L. acknowledges the NRF-CRP award 'Novel 2D materials with tailored properties: beyond graphene' (R-144-000-295-281).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Science and Engineering, Rutgers University, 607 Taylor Road, Piscataway, 08854, New Jersey, USA

    Manish Chhowalla

  2. Interdisciplinary School of Green Energy and Low Dimensional Carbon Materials Center, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), UNIST-gil 50, Ulsan, 689-798, Republic of Korea

    Hyeon Suk Shin

  3. Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 117542, Singapore

    Goki Eda

  4. Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 117543, Singapore

    Goki Eda & Kian Ping Loh

  5. Graphene Research Centre, National University of Singapore, 117546, Singapore

    Goki Eda & Kian Ping Loh

  6. Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    Lain-Jong Li

  7. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore

    Hua Zhang

Authors
  1. Manish Chhowalla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hyeon Suk Shin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Goki Eda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lain-Jong Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kian Ping Loh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Hua Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manish Chhowalla.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chhowalla, M., Shin, H., Eda, G. et al. The chemistry of two-dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets. Nature Chem 5, 263–275 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1589

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1589

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing