Topotactic phase transformation of hexagonal MoO3 to layered MoO3-II and its two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets
Article
Kumar, V, Sumboja, A, Wang, J et al. (2014). Topotactic phase transformation of hexagonal MoO3 to layered MoO3-II and its two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets
. CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, 26(19), 5533-5539. 10.1021/cm502558t
Kumar, V, Sumboja, A, Wang, J et al. (2014). Topotactic phase transformation of hexagonal MoO3 to layered MoO3-II and its two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets
. CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, 26(19), 5533-5539. 10.1021/cm502558t
This study reports a novel strategy to obtain a layered metastable phase of molybdenum trioxide (MoO3). The metastable phase in the layered framework, i.e., MoO3-II, was a result of the topotactic phase transformation of hexagonal-MoO3 (h-MoO3) into MoO3-II. This transformation was realized through the removal of the water and ammonium molecules from the framework of h-MoO3. Next, a facile exfoliation strategy was adopted to prepare MoO3-II nanosheets, consisting of double-layers of MoO6 octahedra. The as-exfoliated MoO3-II nanosheets had measured thicknesses of 1.4, 2.4, and 11.2 nm, as quantified using atomic force microscopy (AFM), equivalent to 2, 3, and 16 double-layers of the MoO6 octahedra in MoO3-II, respectively, after taking into account their respective van der Waals gaps (thickness of a MoO3-II double-layer ∼0.709 nm). This work is the first attempt to synthesize MoO3-II nanosheets and shed light on their formation mechanism. (Figure Presented).
