Synthesis of MoS2@NdS heterostructures featuring augmented field emission performance

Abstract

A molybdenum disulfide and neodymium sulfide (MoS₂–NdS) heterostructure was successfully fabricated through a facile three-step synthesis process: pre-fabrication of NdS nanoparticles via a micelle-assisted solid-state route, the synthesis of MoS₂ rods via a micelle-assisted solid-state route, and the fabrication of the MoS₂–NdS heterostructure, in which the NdS nanoparticles were uniformly self-assembled on the MoS₂ rods by utilizing a mixture of polyethylene glycol and ethanol as a binding agent using the spin coating technique. Moreover, the MoS₂–NdS heterostructure possesses enhanced field emission properties with a lower turn-on field of 2.5 V μm⁻¹ relative to pure MoS₂ and NdS with turn-on fields of 3.0 and 5.1 V μm⁻¹. The emission current stability at the pre-set value of 6 V μm⁻¹ over an 8 h duration is found to be fairly good, characterized by current fluctuation within ±2% of the average value. The enhanced field emission (FE) performance of the MoS₂–NdS heterostructure is attributed to its high enhancement factor (β) of ∼2.0 × 10³. These findings indicate that the MoS₂–NdS heterostructure emitter can serve as an electron source in vacuum nano/microelectronic systems.