Nanoscale MoS 2 -in-Nanoporous Au Hybrid Structure for Enhancing Electrochemical Sensing

Journal article

We report the fabrication of nanoscale MoS2 (nMoS2) via laser ablation in liquid and its application in electrochemical sensing. The laser ablation process fragments microscale MoS2 sheets into ~5 nm dots with stable aqueous dispersibility. Electrochemical analysis reveals that nMoS2 possesses multiple reversible redox states, enabling it to participate in redox cycling reactions that can amplify electrochemical signals. When the nMoS2 is embedded in an electrochemically inert matrix, a chitosan layer, and subsequently incorporated within a nanostructured Au electrode, the nMoS2-participating redox cycling reactions are further enhanced by the nanoconfinement effect, leading to synergistic signal amplification. As a model system, this hybrid nMoS2-in-nanoporous Au electrode demonstrates a 9-fold increase in sensitivity for detecting pyocyanin, a biomarker of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, compared with a flat electrode without nMoS2 loading. This study not only elucidates the redox characteristics of laser-fabricated zero-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides but also presents a strategy to integrate semiconducting nanomaterials with metallic nanostructures for high-performance electrochemical sensing.

Authors: Kim, J; Kim, M; Choi, Y; Bae, J; Lee, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: MDPI
• Journal: Sensors
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 23
• Pages: 7137
• Article number: 7137
• Publication date: 2025-11-22
• Acceptance date: 2025-11-20
• DOI: 10.3390/s25237137
• EISSN: 1424-8220
• ISSN: 1424-8220
• Language: English
• Keywords: nanoconfinement effect; transition metal dichalcogenides; redox cycling reaction; electrochemical sensor; nanoporous structure