• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.376-381
• /
• 2022

Tungsten disulfide (WS₂) nanosheets have attracted considerable attention because of their unique optical and electrical properties. Several methods for fabrication of WS₂ nanosheets have been developed. However, methods for mass production of high-quality WS₂ nanosheets remain challenging. In this study, WS₂ nanosheets were fabricated using mechano-chemical ball milling based on the synergetic effects of chemical intercalation and mechanical exfoliation. The ball-milling time was set as a variable for the optimized fabricating process of WS₂ nanosheets. Under the optimized conditions, the WS₂ nanosheets had lateral sizes of 500-600 nm with either a monolayer or bilayer. They also exhibited high crystallinity in the 2H semiconducting phase. Thus, the proposed method can be applied to the exfoliation of other transition metal dichalcogenides using suitable chemical intercalants. It can also be used with high-performance WS₂-based photodiodes and transistors used in practical semiconductor applications.