Fabrication of blue luminescent MoS₂ quantum dots by wet grinding assisted co-solvent sonication

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) belongs to transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) family and has vital position among 2D materials. Here, an efficient strategy for the synthesis of zero-dimensional MoS₂ quantum dots (QDs) has been represented. This strategy consists of wet grinding of pristine MoS₂ in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) followed by sonication in NMP and 1,2-dichlorobenzene (o-DCB). The efficacy of this approach to synthesize MoS₂ QDs has been reported by analyzing the as synthesized MoS₂ QDs by different characterization techniques such as high resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy. The concentration (yield) of as synthesized MoS₂ QDs was found to be 7 mg mL^-1. Most of the MoS₂ QDs were measured around 2-5 nm in size. The as synthesized MoS₂ QDs showed distinct blue luminescence upon UV excitation.