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Novel synthesis of MoS2 nanoparticles via pulsed laser ablation in liquid for high-performance photodetection applications
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  • Published: 15 February 2026

Novel synthesis of MoS2 nanoparticles via pulsed laser ablation in liquid for high-performance photodetection applications

  • Suaad S. Shaker1,
  • Hanan A. Rawdhan1,
  • Raid A. Ismail1,
  • Ethar Yahya Salih2,
  • Duha S. Ahmed1,
  • Asmiet Ramizy3,
  • Mustafa Kareem4,
  • M. H. Eisa5,
  • Lutfi Mohammed Abdalgadir5 &
  • …
  • M. M. Rashed5 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Chemistry
  • Materials science
  • Nanoscience and technology
  • Optics and photonics

Abstract

In this work, MoS2 nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized by laser ablation of molybdenum in thiourea. The effect of adding of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDS) surfactant to thiourea on the properties of MoS2 NPs was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies reveal that the synthesized MoS2 NPs were crystalline with hexagonal structures. Field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) investigations confirm the synthesized MoS2 NPs have spherical and hexagonal morphologies. The energy band-gap of MoS2 prepared in thiourea solution was about 1.2 eV and after addition of SDS is about 1.5 eV. The chemical bonds between Mo-S at peaks at 766, 894 and 1457 cm− 1 were identified by FTIR analysis. The Raman spectra of MoS2 shows formation (Mo-S) bond stretching mode. The current-voltage characteristic of n-MoS2/p-Si heterojunction prepared in thiourea and thiourea + SDS solutions were inspected during dark and illumination settings. The results reveal the responsivity of the fabricated devices increased from 0.9 to 1.17 A/W at 650 nm upon the addition of SDS surfactant to thiourea. The detectivity and quantum efficiency of the photodetector increases significantly after adding SDS surfactant. Energy band lineup of n-MoS2/p-Si photodetector under illumination was as well performed.

Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

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Funding

This work was supported and funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) (grant number IMSIU-DDRSP2602).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Science Department, University of Technology-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

    Suaad S. Shaker, Hanan A. Rawdhan, Raid A. Ismail & Duha S. Ahmed

  2. College of Energy and Environmental Sciences, Al-Karkh University of Science, Baghdad, 10081, Iraq

    Ethar Yahya Salih

  3. College of Science, University of Anbar, Anbar, Iraq

    Asmiet Ramizy

  4. College of Remote Sensing and Geophysics, Al-Karkh University of Science, Baghdad, Iraq

    Mustafa Kareem

  5. Department of Physics, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, 13318, Saudi Arabia

    M. H. Eisa, Lutfi Mohammed Abdalgadir & M. M. Rashed

Authors
  1. Suaad S. Shaker
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  2. Hanan A. Rawdhan
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Contributions

Raid, Suaad, and Hanan: Original draft, Methodology, Supervision, and Investigation, and. Ethar, Mustafa, Duha, and Asmiet: Main Concept, Data interpretation, and Formal analysis. Mohamed, Lutfi, and Mohammed writing review and editing, visualization, and Data curation. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. H. Eisa.

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Shaker, S.S., Rawdhan, H.A., Ismail, R.A. et al. Novel synthesis of MoS2 nanoparticles via pulsed laser ablation in liquid for high-performance photodetection applications. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38647-9

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  • Received: 19 October 2025

  • Accepted: 30 January 2026

  • Published: 15 February 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38647-9

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Keywords

  • Laser ablation
  • Molybdenum disulfide
  • Nanoparticles
  • Thiourea solution
  • SDS surfactant
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