Hydrothermal synthesis of MoS2 nanosheets films: Microstructure and formation mechanism research

•MoS2 nanosheets films were successfully prepared on Ti foil.•The diffraction peaks along (002) planes made a wide shift at the beginning•The gravity of seed crystal played a important role in crystal growth process.•This efficient amd synthetic route may be applied as a general method

MoS2 nanosheets films were successfully prepared by Ti foil assisted hydrothermal synthesis method (labeled as Ti-MoS2 nanosheets films). The downside and upside of the films showed different novel morphologies with nanosheets arranged regularly and flowerlike microspheres, respectively. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the peaks along (002) planes made a wide shift from 14.2° to 9.4° compared to its standard position located at 14.2° at the beginning of the hydrothermal process, then gradually returned back to its normal position with the hydrothermal treatment time going on. However, time was not the only element to influence the position of the main diffraction peaks, a relatively low hydrothermal treatment temperature could also lead to the diffraction peaks' shift. In addition, TEM images indicated that the nanosheets film with hydrothermal treatment time for 24 h had a good single-crystal structure. Otherwise, the formation mechanism was carefully discussed and a possible formation mechanism was proposed.

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