Synthesis of nanosized ultrathin MoS2 on montmorillonite nanosheets by CVD method

Abstract As an emerging material, exfoliated molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has an excellent performance in catalysis, electronics and adsorption. However, the application performance of exfoliated MoS2 is limited by the strong adhesion between MoS2 layers and the low colloidal stability of MoS2 in water. In this study, for the first time, nanosized ultrathin MoS2 was successfully synthesized on exfoliated montmorillonite (MMT) by CVD method. Two reaction mechanisms were found when using flow gas with or without H2. The introduction of H2 promotes the growth of MoS2 crystals and reduces nucleation density. The MoS2/MMT showed excellent performance in dye degradation.