Crystalline Phase Effects on the Nonlinear Optical Response of MoS₂ and WS₂ Nanosheets: Implications for Photonic and Optoelectronic Applications

In the present work, some MoS2 and WS2 nanosheets were prepared and characterized. Depending on the preparation procedures, trigonal prismatic (2H) or octahedral (1T) coordination of the metal atoms was obtained, exhibiting metallic (1T) or semiconducting (2H) character. Both MoS2 and WS2 nanosheets were found exhibiting large nonlinear optical (NLO) responses, strongly dependent on their metallic (1T) or semiconducting (2H) character. Therefore, the semiconducting character of MoS2 and WS2 exhibits positive nonlinear absorption and strong self-focusing behavior, while their metallic character counterparts exhibit strong negative nonlinear absorption and important self-defocusing behavior. In addition, the semiconducting MoS2 and WS2 were found exhibiting important and very broadband optical limiting (OL) action extending from 450 to 1750 nm. Therefore, by selecting the crystalline phase of the nanosheets, that is, their semiconduction/metallic character, their NLO response can be greatly modulated. The results of the present work demonstrate unambiguously that the control of the crystalline phase of MoS2 and WS2 provides an efficient strategy for 2D nanostructures with custom-made NLO properties for specific optoelectronic and photonic applications such as OL, saturable absorption, and optical switching.