Hydrothermal synthesis and controlled growth of group-VIB W metal compound nanostructures from tungsten oxide to tungsten disulphide.

Two-dimensional lateral group-VIB transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted much attention in the fast evolving field of advanced photoelectric functional materials, but their controllable fabrication is challenging. Herein, an emerging synthetic route for sulfurization of tungsten oxide was developed. During the hydrothermal reaction, the optimization of the precursor selection and synthesis parameters led to the tunable properties of WO-WSO-WS nanostructures. The vulcanization was thermodynamically favorably at low temperatures and in an environment with a sufficient S source, wherein WO was reduced by H atoms to WO, and S atoms were preferentially adsorbed on O vacancies. The WSO nanostructures have a narrow band-gap attributed to the effect of S on the valence band top and electronic density of states by density functional theory. The photocurrent response and charge transfer properties of WSO were improved due to the charge transport between WS and WO. Understanding the formation and transformation of WS nanostructures in solution contributes to the discovery of the important structure-efficiency relationship, which may be extended to other TMDs systems. Hence, extensive research efforts are still needed to develop safer and more efficient synthesis and modification methods to fully utilize the distinctive advantageous properties of TMDs in the photoelectric field.