Self-assembly of molybdite nanoribbons

In this article we report the synthesis of molybdenum trioxide nanoribbons assembled into self-standing films. The molybdenum oxide crystals are prepared by acid decomposition of sodium molybdate under hydrothermal conditions. The set of conditions to obtain well-aligned single crystalline, single-phase products was determined; under these conditions it is possible to obtain assemblies of crystals of several centimeters, aligned along a single crystalline direction. These crystals are also suitable precursors to other molybdenum chalcogenides, as we present a nanostructured molybdenum sulfide obtained by the sulfidation of these molybdenum oxide nanoribbons. A considerable amount of single nanowires and nanoplatelets of molybdenum sulfide were observed in this material.