Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Synthesis of a Thiol Building Block for the Crystallization of a Semiconducting Gyroidal Metal-sulfur Framework
Published on: April 9, 2018
Functionalization of Two-Dimensional MoS2 : On the Reaction Between MoS2 and Organic Thiols
Xin Chen1,2, Nina C Berner1,2, Claudia Backes1,3
1CRANN/AMBER Nanoscience Institute, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, College Green, Dublin, 2, Ireland.
Abstract:
Two-dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted great interest owing to their unique properties and a wide array of potential applications. However, due to their inert nature, pristine TMDs are very challenging to functionalize. We demonstrate a general route to functionalize exfoliated 2H-MoS2 with cysteine. Critically, MoS2 was found to be facilitating the oxidation of the thiol cysteine to the disulfide cystine during functionalization. The resulting cystine was physisorbed on MoS2 rather than coordinated as a thiol (cysteine) filling S-vacancies in the 2H-MoS2 surface, as originally conceived. These observations were found to be true for other organic thiols and indeed other TMDs. Our findings suggest that functionalization of two-dimensional MoS2 using organic thiols may not yield covalently or datively tethered functionalities, rather, in this instance, they yield physisorbed disulfides that are easily removed.
More Related Videos
08:50Preparation of Large-area Vertical 2D Crystal Hetero-structures Through the Sulfurization of Transition Metal Films for Device Fabrication
Published on: November 28, 2017
04:51Author Spotlight: Functionalizing Metal-Organic Frameworks: Advancements, Challenges, and the Power of Post-Synthetic Ligand Exchange
Published on: June 23, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Preparation and Reactions of Thiols
Preparation and Reactions of Sulfides
Structure and Nomenclature of Thiols and Sulfides
Hydroboration-Oxidation of Alkenes
Oxidation of Alcohols
The process of oxidation in a chemical reaction is observed in any of the three forms:
Preparation of Alcohols via Addition Reactions
The acid-catalyzed addition of water to the double bond of alkenes is a large-scale industrial method used to synthesize low-molecular-weight alcohols. An acidic atmosphere is required to allow the hydrogen in the water molecule to act as an electrophile and attack the double bond in an alkene. The addition of a proton to the double bond creates a carbocation intermediate. The proton preferentially bonds to the less substituted end of the double bond to create a more stable carbocation...