Phenolic compounds as redox-active exfoliation agents for group VI transition metal dichalcogenides

Simple, cheap, and green exfoliation methods for the mass production of two-dimensional (2D) nano- materials are still required for their widespread adoption. In this context, this work presents a systematic study regarding the exfoliation of group VI transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) using 14 different food-derived phenolic compounds of different structural complexity. Phenolic compounds have demonstrated to successfully assist the liquid phase exfoliation conferring unique redox functionalities to the TMDs nanosheets. The most performant exfoliating agents have been carefully optimized and demonstrated to produce stable 2D nanoflakes dispersions with peculiar electrochemical properties. This work proves how properly selected natural stabilizing agents allow an effective TMDs exfoliation, giving rise to hybrid organic/inorganic nanomaterials with functional electrochemical and additional catalytic features. The reported approach opens new paths for the green production of exfoliated 2D functional nanomaterials for sensing, biosensing, and energy applications.