Flower-Like Molybdenum Disulfide for Polarity-Triggered Accumulation/Release of Small Molecules

Flower-like molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) with rich edge sites has been prepared by the hydrothermal method. The edge sites possess polarity due to the noncentrosymmetric Mo-S on exposed (100) facets and thus show a strong electrostatic attraction toward polar species. The flower-like MoS₂ can be used as small-molecule carriers for the model drug, Rhodamine B (RhB). The results prove that flower-like MoS₂ have fast adsorption kinetics and perform a switchable accumulation/release with response to the solvent polarity. An outstanding reusability can be found in flower-like MoS₂ due to little cargo retention, and the recycle of adsorption can be repeated 100 times with above 88.5% of the adsorption capacity retained. The flower-like MoS₂ with solvent polarity-triggered loading/release can be extended to controlled release and color switch of display.