Facile synthesis of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) quantum dots and its application in humidity sensing

Abstract

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) quantum dots (QDs) are successfully synthesized by facile synthesis using ultrasonication assisted liquid exfoliation technique. The high and low boiling point solvents: N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) and ethanol-water solution have been used for synthesis of MoS2 QDs. Similar size distribution of MoS2 QDs synthesized in two different solvents have been observed from the transmission electron microscopy and average size of these QDs are ∼5 nm. The film of MoS2 QDs is used to fabricate humidity sensor. The large edge to volume ratio and high surface active sites of QDs enhanced the water adsorption even at low humidity environment (<37% RH). The humidity sensing analysis shows that sensing film of MoS2 QDs synthesized in ethanol-water has an average sensitivity of 2.78 MΩ/%RH with fast response time (11 s), good repeatability and high stability. In view of these results, the work is highly applicable to fabricate high performance MoS2 QDs humidity sensor.