Electrochemical deposition of MoS2 thin films by reduction of tetrathiomolybdate

Molybdenum sulphide was cathodically electrodeposited from aqueous solutions of sodium tetrathiomolybdate. The as-deposited films were X-ray amorphous with a composition, measured by microprobe analysis, close to MoS2. Annealing these films in Ar resulted in highly-textured films of MoS2 with the van der Waals planes parallel to the substrate. A small expansion in the c spacing of the annealed films was explained by the presence of oxygen in the crystals. A direct bandgap of 1.78 eV was found for the annealed films.