AFM study on the adsorption of Hg2+ on natural molybdenum disulfide in aqueous solutions

Abstract

The adsorption of Hg²⁺ on natural molybdenum disulfide has been studied using atomic force microscope (AFM). The AFM imaging clearly illustrated the adsorption of Hg²⁺ on the surface of molybdenum disulfide, and also hydration layers on the surfaces. It was found that the presence of a hydration layer on molybdenum disulfide surfaces hindered the Hg²⁺ adsorption. Also, it was observed that the Hg²⁺ adsorbed appeared in the form of multilayers. The first adsorbed Hg²⁺ layer might be mainly attributed to the complexation of Hg²⁺ with S atoms exposed on molybdenum disulfide surfaces, while the second one might be due to the electrostatic interaction between negatively charged molybdenum disulfide and the cation Hg²⁺.