Strain-Gradient Effect in Gas Sensors Based on Three-Dimensional Hollow Molybdenum Disulfide Nanoflakes

A novel three-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) structure consisting of seamless hollow nanoflakes on two-dimensional basal layers was synthesized by a one-step chemical vapor deposition method. Here, we demonstrate that the as-grown nanoflakes are formed on an organic promoter layer which served as a positive template and are swollen at the grain boundaries by the bubbling effect. TMD nanosheets with hollow nanoflakes are successfully applied as chemical sensors, and it was found that their gas adsorption property is strongly related to the internal strain gradient resulting from the variation in the lattice parameter. This result is consistent with the theoretical prediction in previous studies. Our chemical vapor deposition-based approach is an efficient way to generate TMD-based nanostructures over a large surface area for various practical applications such as chemical sensors.