2D transition metal dichalcogenides with glucan multivalency for antibody-free pathogen recognition.

The ability to control the dimensions and properties of nanomaterials is fundamental to the creation of new functions and improvement of their performances in the applications of interest. Herein, we report a strategy based on glucan multivalent interactions for the simultaneous exfoliation and functionalization of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) in an aqueous solution. The multivalent hydrogen bonding of dextran with bulk TMDs (WS, WSe, and MoSe) in liquid exfoliation effectively produces TMD monolayers with binding multivalency for pathogenic bacteria.