Facile Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nb‐Doped WS 2 /WO 3 Nanostructures: Insights into Photoluminescence and Electronic Properties

Abstract A one‐pot hydrothermal synthesis of Nb‐doped WS 2 /WO 3 nanostructures (NS) has been reported. Enhanced photoluminescence (PL) is observed due to WO 3 phase coverage, which stabilizes surface and edge defects of WS 2 . Redshift in the UV–vis characteristics of the NS points to the tunable band gap of the material with increasing Nb dopant percentage. PL study of the NS illustrates that the emission property is responsible for the many‐body interaction of excitons at the Nb impurity introduced bound and resonant defect states near valence band of WS 2 and sub‐gap sulfur vacancy defect states. The NS exhibited type I band alignment between WS 2 /WO 3, which is crucial for optoelectronic photodetector devices. The reported synthesis strategy provides a cost‐effective way of producing tunable and stable WS 2 /WO 3 NS with enhanced emission properties, opening an avenue for designing electronic and optoelectronic devices and other functional applications.