Facile synthesis of optical pH-sensitive molybdenum disulfide quantum dots.

An effective fabrication of MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) has been developed using alkali metal-intercalation and exfoliation. The obtained MoS2 QDs are monolayers with a uniform lateral size of 4.26 ± 0.96 nm, which exhibit distinct blue fluorescence with a quantum yield of 2.28%, robust dispersibility, storage stability and pH dependent optical properties.