Scalable Patterning of MoS<inf>2</inf> Nanoribbons by Micromolding in Capillaries

Abstract

In this study, we report a facile approach to prepare dense arrays of MoS nanoribbons by combining procedures of micromolding in capillaries (MIMIC) and thermolysis of thiosalts ((NH ) MoS ) as the printing ink. The obtained MoS nanoribbons had a thickness reaching as low as 3.9 nm, a width ranging from 157 to 465 nm, and a length up to 2 cm. MoS nanoribbons with an extremely high aspect ratio (length/width) of ∼7.4 × 10 were achieved. The MoS pattern can be printed on versatile substrates, such as SiO /Si, sapphire, Au film, FTO/glass, and graphene-coated glass. The degree of crystallinity of the as-prepared MoS was discovered to be adjustable by varying the temperature through postannealing. The high-temperature thermolysis (1000 °C) results in high-quality conductive samples, and field-effect transistors based on the patterned MoS nanoribbons were demonstrated and characterized, where the carrier mobility was comparable to that of thin-film MoS . In contrast, the low-temperature-treated samples (170 °C) result in a unique nanocrystalline MoS structure (x ≈ 2.5), where the abundant and exposed edge sites were obtained from highly dense arrays of nanoribbon structures by this MIMIC patterning method. The patterned MoS was revealed to have superior electrocatalytic efficiency (an overpotential of ∼211 mV at 10 mA/cm and a Tafel slope of 43 mV/dec) in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) when compared to the thin-film MoS . The report introduces a new concept for rapidly fabricating cost-effective and high-density MoS /MoS nanostructures on versatile substrates, which may pave the way for potential applications in nanoelectronics/optoelectronics and frontier energy materials. 2 4 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 x x 2 2 x 8 2