In situ deposition and characterization of MoS₂ nanolayers on carbon nanofibers and nanotubes

We report on the deposition of thin nanolayers of MoS₂ material on carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by in situ thermal decomposition of (NH₄)₂MoS₄ in oleylamine. The synthesized MoS₂@CNF and MoS₂@CNT nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), and Raman spectroscopy. TEM results indicate that CNFs, as well as CNTs, provide an excellent template for the deposition and growth of MoS₂ nanolayers. 2-5 layers thick MoS₂ nanocrystals and 5-10 nm wide form on the CNFs, while monolayers of the same width form on the CNTs. The advantage of the applied synthetic method is that it provides control over the material morphology, leading to uniform and full cover of the CNFs and CNTs with no individual formations of material away from the carbon. To the best of our knowledge, the deposition of MoS₂ on CNFs has not been reported elsewhere.