Synthesis of Chiral Molybdenum Disulfide Nanostructures Decorated with Plasmonic Nanoparticles

• Grant number: 25/11877-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Valeria Spolon Marangoni
• Grantee: Raquel de Godoy Vianna
• Host Institution: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDCs), such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS¿), exhibit high surface area, biocompatibility, and unique properties that depend on their structural phase (1T or 2H) and the number of layers, such as a tunable band gap. These materials can be combined with plasmonic nanoparticles to create multifunctional systems. For instance, MoS¿ decorated with gold nanoparticles exhibits high biocompatibility and unique optical properties of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR), which can be tuned from the visible to the near-infrared spectrum depending on the morphology of the nanoparticles. Chiral materials have attracted significant interest due to their distinctive optical properties and selective biological interactions, making them relevant for several applications, from medicine to sensor development. The emergence of inherently chiral nanomaterials can add novel properties to these nanosystems, including selective chemical reactivity and tunable electronic properties, thereby expanding their applications. Recently, attention has been brought to the development of chiral 2D materials, such as MoS¿, which present exciting opportunities for sensor development and the fabrication of chiroptical devices. This project aims to develop two-dimensional hybrid nanostructures consisting of chiral MoS¿ and gold nanoparticles. MoS¿ will be prepared using a top-down liquid exfoliation method and the chirality will be induced by chiral amino acids. This study will focus on the development of synthesis methodologies and the investigation of how chirality affects the in situ growth of gold nanoparticles, and the resulting optical properties of the hybrid system.