Adsorption Kinetics of WS₂ Quantum Dots onto a Polycrystalline Gold Surface

In this work, we report the adsorption kinetics of electrochemically synthesized WS₂ quantum dots (QDs) (ca. 3 nm) onto a polycrystalline gold electrode. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm approach was employed to explore the temperature and adsorbate concentration dependence of the experimentally calculated equilibrium constant of adsorption ( K_eq) and the free energy for adsorption (Δ G_ads). Subsequently, we extract other thermodynamic parameters, such as adsorption rate constant ( K_ads), desorption rate constant ( K_d), the enthalpy of adsorption (Δ H_ads), and the entropy of adsorption (Δ S_ads). Our findings indicate that Δ G_ads is temperature-dependent and ca. -7.64 ± 0.6 kJ/mol, Δ H_ads = -43.72 ± 1.7 kJ/mol, and Δ S_ads = -0.126 ± 0.017 kJ/(mol K). These investigations on the contribution of the enthalpic and entropic forces to the total free energy of this system underscore the role of entropic forces on the stability of the WS₂ QDs monolayer and provide new thermodynamic insights into other transition-metal dichalcogenide quantum dot (TMDQD) monolayers as well.