MoS2–graphene hybrid nanostructures enhanced localized surface plasmon resonance biosensors

Abstract We propose a new configuration of a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) biosensor that is based on MoS2–graphene hybrid structures for ultrasensitive detection of molecules. The performance parameters of the proposed biosensor are defined in terms of absorption and sensitivity. Our study show that sensitivity can be greatly increased either by adding a bilayer MoS2/graphene on the Au nanoparticles or by adding the MoS2 layer or the graphene layer on the surface of the Au nanoparticles. The absorption curves for the proposed LSPR biosensor are analyzed and compared with the conventional biosensors without MoS2/graphene. By optimizing the structure of the sensor, we find that the sensitivity as high as 360 nm/RIU can be achieved with 8-layers of MoS2 and 10-layers of graphene. In addition, we show that the sensitivity can be controlled by changing the number of the monolayer of MoS2 and/or graphene. Finally, we show that this sensor can detect successfully impure water after absorption of target single-stranded DeoxyriboNucleic Acid (ssDNA) biomolecules.