Large-Area Atomically Thin MoS₂ Nanosheets Prepared Using Electrochemical Exfoliation

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is an extremely intriguing material because of its unique electrical and optical properties. The preparation of large-area and high-quality MoS2 nanosheets is an important step in a wide range of applications. This study demonstrates that monolayer and few-layer MoS2 nanosheets can be obtained from electrochemical exfoliation of bulk MoS2 crystals. The lateral size of the exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets is in the 5-50 μm range, which is much larger than that of chemically or liquid-phase exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets. The MoS2 nanosheets undergo low levels of oxidation during electrochemical exfoliation. In addition, microscopic and spectroscopic characterizations indicate that the exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets are of high quality and have an intrinsic structure. A back-gate field-effect transistor was fabricated using an exfoliated monolayer MoS2 nanosheet. The on/off current ratio is over 10(6), and the field-effect mobility is approximately 1.2 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1); these values are comparable to the results for micromechanically exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets. The electrochemical exfoliation method is simple and scalable, and it can be applied to exfoliate other transition metal dichalcogenides.