Crystalline WS2 via Room Temperature, Solution-Phase Synthesis.

Crystalline tungsten disulfide (WS2) has been prepared from the reaction of bis(cyclopentadienyl)tungsten dihydride with sulfur at room temperature and ambient pressure in organic solvents. WS2 was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, resonance Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and the resulting WS2 is highly crystalline by X-ray diffraction. The low-temperature synthesis is hypothesized to be a result of highly mobile surface W-Cp groups that are able to facilitate crystallization.