Trion dynamics and charge photogeneration in MoS₂ nanosheets prepared by liquid phase exfoliation

Since excitonic quasiparticles, including excitons, trions and charges, have a great influence on the photoelectric characteristics of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), systematic explorations of the trion dynamics and charge photogeneration in 2D TMDs are important for their future optoelectronic applications. Here, broadband femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopic experiments are performed first to investigate the peak shifting and broadening kinetics in MoS₂ nanosheets in solution prepared by liquid phase exfoliation (LPE-MoS₂, ∼9 layers, 9L), which reveal that the binding energies for the A-, B-, and C-exciton states are ∼77 meV, ∼76 meV, and -70 meV (the energy difference between free charges and excitons; the negative sign for C-excitons means a spontaneous dissociation nature in band-nesting regions), respectively. Then, the trion dynamics and charge photogeneration in LPE-MoS₂ nanosheets have been studied in detail, demonstrating that they are comparable to those in chemical vapor deposition grown MoS₂ films (1L-, 3L- and 7L-MoS₂). These experimental results suggest that LPE-TMD nanosheets also have the potential for use in charge-related optoelectronic devices based on 2D TMDs.