Biomolecule-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of molybdenum disulfide microspheres with nanorods

MoS(2) microspheres with nanorods were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method at 240 degrees C for 24 h, employing sodium molybdate and L-cysteine as reactants. L-cysteine turned out to be served as both the sulfur source and the directing molecule in the formation of molybdenum disulfide nanostructures. The as-prepared MoS(2) was characterized by X-ray power diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). FE-SEM images showed that the product was microspheres, consisting of nanorods with length of about 100 nm. The possible formation mechanism was also discussed. The results indicated that MoO(2) was the metastable phase and Na(2)MoO(4)center dot 2H(2)O was converted to MoS(2) via MoO(2). (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V.