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Functionalization of Two‐Dimensional MoS 2 : On the Reaction Between MoS 2 and Organic Thiols
Author(s) -
Chen Xin,
Berner Nina C.,
Backes Claudia,
Duesberg Georg S.,
McDonald Aidan R.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201510219
Subject(s) - surface modification , cystine , thiol , cysteine , inert , covalent bond , yield (engineering) , chemistry , disulfide bond , nanotechnology , combinatorial chemistry , transition metal , bioconjugation , materials science , organic chemistry , catalysis , enzyme , biochemistry , metallurgy
Two‐dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted great interest owing to their unique properties and a wide array of potential applications. However, due to their inert nature, pristine TMDs are very challenging to functionalize. We demonstrate a general route to functionalize exfoliated 2H‐MoS 2 with cysteine. Critically, MoS 2 was found to be facilitating the oxidation of the thiol cysteine to the disulfide cystine during functionalization. The resulting cystine was physisorbed on MoS 2 rather than coordinated as a thiol (cysteine) filling S‐vacancies in the 2H‐MoS 2 surface, as originally conceived. These observations were found to be true for other organic thiols and indeed other TMDs. Our findings suggest that functionalization of two‐dimensional MoS 2 using organic thiols may not yield covalently or datively tethered functionalities, rather, in this instance, they yield physisorbed disulfides that are easily removed.