Carbon nanotube hybrids with MoS₂ and WS₂ synthesized with control of crystal structure and morphology

Carbon nanotube hybrids with molybdenum and tungsten disulfides have attracted lots of attentions due to their unique electronic and photonic properties. MoS₂ and WS₂ with different layers and morphology have been produced from homogeneous ultra-fine MoO₃ and WO₃ nanoparticles (1-2 nm) with different densities on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in this work. The different MWCNT hybrid structures not only provide the investigation feasibility of exciton transfer but also give potential applications of catalysts and batteries. A facile method, ultra-sonication, has been adopted to produce MWCNT hybrids with homogeneous ultra-dense and ultra-fine MoO₃ and WO₃ nanoparticles. The as-produced molybdenum trioxide nanoparticles and free-standing molybdenum trioxide nanowires from the same method with different reaction time have been found to crystallize in different crystal lattices. The nanoparticle morphology leads to the detachment of H₂O from molybdenum trioxide lattices, which was confirmed by thermodynamic analysis based on density functional theory. MWCNT hybrids with layered MoS₂ and WS₂ are preferred after the sulfuration of MoO₃ and WO₃ nanoparticle-MWCNT hybrid structures. The layers and morphology of MoS₂ and WS₂ have been controlled by the densities of trioxide nanoparticle precursors on MWCNTs.