Rapid synthesis of MoS2–Ag nanocomposites via photoreduction for optical tuning and surface-enhanced Raman scattering applications

Abstract

Semiconductor–metal nanocomposites have been widely investigated to modify the intrinsic properties of materials used for optoelectronic devices and sensing applications. In this study, a method for rapid synthesis of MoS2–Ag nanocomposites via laser-assisted photoreduction was proposed. For the photoreduction process, we used AgNO3 solution as a metal source. Under laser irradiation, Ag ions were easily reduced on MoS2 by photo-generated electrons from MoS2. The optical properties of MoS2–Ag nanocomposites were easily controlled by simple adjustment of the photoreduction time. To investigate the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect of the MoS2–Ag nanocomposites, the SERS spectra of methylene blue (MB) on MoS2–Ag nanocomposites were measured, and the nanocomposites were found to enhance the Raman scattering intensity of MB up to ∼106. Therefore, the laser-assisted photoreduction method has great potential for rapid synthesis and optical tuning of semiconductor–metal nanocomposites.

Keywords

• Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)
• Silver (Ag)
• Photoreduction
• Optical tuning
• Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)