Formation of WS2 nanosheets and its field emission studies

Abstract

The present study describes the results on the formation of WS2 nanosheets using the nanosecond laser ablation in a liquid environment. The laser ablation in liquid is a well-known method and is widely used for the generation of nanostructure. The nanosecond laser ablation is used to irradiate WS2 in a isopropyl alcohol to generate WS2 nanosheets. The laser ablation time was 120 min. The field emission measurement of irradiated WS2 nanostructures was performed. The Bulk and WS2 were used to characterize the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy to reveal their surface and structural morphology. It is found that the laser ablation time is an important parameter to transform the bulk WS2 into WS2 nanosheets. The generation of WS2 nanosheets is revealed by the Raman spectra. Moreover, the TEM images indicate that the size of WS2 microsheet has been reduced to 400 nm after the laser ablation treatment. It is also found that the field emission current density of WS2 is increased after the laser ablation. The improvement in the field emission characteristics of WS2 is due to the formation of WS2 as well as the separation of layered WS2 structure into few layers of WS2. The formation of WS2 nanosheets can be used for future optoelectronic devices.