Synthesis of core-shell single-layer MoS₂ sheathing gold nanoparticles, AuNP@1L-MoS₂

Nanoparticles, and more specifically gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), have attracted much scientific and technological interest in the last few decades. Their popularity is attributed to their unique optical, catalytic, electrical and magnetic properties when compared with the bulk. However, one of the main problems with AuNPs is their long-term stability. Two-dimensional materials like MoS₂ (WS₂) are semiconductors that exhibit a combination of properties which make them suitable for electronic, optical and (photo)catalytic devices. Few-layer MoS₂ (WS₂) nanoparticles (NPs), and in particular single-layer ones, show intriguing optical and electrical properties which are very different from those of the bulk compounds. Here we demonstrate the synthesis of AuNPs sheathed by a single layer of MoS₂ (WS₂), i.e. a core-shell nanostructure (AuNP@1L-MoS₂). The hybrid NPs exhibit optical properties that are different from those of either constituent and are amenable for modulation via their chemistry, offering a myriad of applications.