Tunable Optical and Electrical Transport Properties of Size- and Temperature-Controlled Polymorph MoS₂ Nanocrystals

Abstract

The phase transition of chemically synthesized MoS2 nanocrystals (NCs) from the metallic 1T to the semiconducting 2H phase has been investigated in detail. The metallic 1T phase NCs were prepared by the Li+ intercalation–deintercalation exfoliation techniques followed by prolonged sonication. The effect of ex situ thermal annealing on MoS2 polymorphs and their transformation from the 1T to 2H phase has been extensively monitored by the X-ray photoelectron, Raman, and optical absorption spectroscopy techniques. Electrical conductivity measurements have also been carried out to probe the phase transition of the synthesized NCs. The temperature-dependent (10–350 K) electrical charge transport properties of variable-sized NCs have been investigated to probe the scaling of conductivity and activation energy with size, which are yet to be reported experimentally. The charge transport mechanisms through the NC assembly for different temperature regions have been modeled and it is observed that the electron transport undergoes a transition from the nearest-neighbor hopping to the variable range hopping upon decreasing temperature.