Fabrication of MoO3 nanoparticles on an MoS2 template with (C4H9Li)xMoS2 exfoliation

Abstract

Hexagonal MoO₃ nanoparticles have been fabricated on an MoS₂ template host via exfoliation of n-butyllithium-intercalated MoS₂ powder in water. Their microstructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Mo_3d and S_2p binding energies show that in the LiOH solution, some of the Mo atoms at the edges of the exfoliated MoS₂ particles are oxidized to the +6 state and some of the S²⁻ ligands are oxidized to SO₄²⁻. The TEM and XRD results confirm the existence of MoO₃ nanoparticles and indicate that the aggregated MoO₃ nanoparticles are distributed uniformly on the platelets of exfoliated MoS₂ and have a diameter of about 5 nm. The process of exfoliation of n-butyllithium-intercalated MoS₂ in water leads to formation of MoO₃ and SO₄²⁻. The reaction procedure can be written as: MoS₂ (exfoliation platelet) + O₂ + OH⁻ → MoO₃ + SO₄²⁻ +H₂O.