Tuning optical properties of monolayer MoS₂ through the 0D/2D interfacial effect with C₆₀ nanoparticles

The success of 2D materials reveals that material properties are highly dependent on their dimensionality. In heterostructure engineering, therefore, the dimensionality of interface also affects the coupling and process there. Here, we construct a fresh 0D/2D interface, demonstrating that their optical properties could be tuned due to the rich surface chemistry of nanoparticles. As a preliminary example, C₆₀ nanoparticles are introduced onto monolayer MoS₂ films through spin coating featured by simple operation, uniform coverage, wafer-scale fabrication and printing capability. A combined study of morphology characterization, optical measurement and band calculations has been performed on these heterostructures. The blue-shift of MoS₂ photoluminescence peak is attributed to the efficient electron transfer from MoS₂ to C₆₀. Moreover, the emission behavior of C₆₀/MoS₂ heterostructures can evolve over time, which may relate to a non-equilibrium process governed by the kinetics and thermodynamic behavior of C₆₀ nanoparticles upon the continued illumination of laser, with some potential in future dynamic imaging and thermal/light sensing systems. We are optimistic that, by further polishing the fabrication of 0D/2D heterostructures, their interaction effect could be in an artificial-atomic designing towards the flexible optical engineering with mixed 2D and 0D quantum confinements.