On the mechanism of molybdenite exfoliation during mechanical milling

MoS2was subjected to the exfoliation process via mechanical milling. X-ray powder diffraction method was used to evaluate structural changes during exfoliation. Electron and atomic force microscopes were employed to investigate nanosheets morphology and thickness. Using XRD results, variation of crystal order was represented for layered materials during milling. Furthermore, a mechanism for exfoliation was proposed based on experimental observations. Finally, a model was developed to predict the reduction of crystal order for MoS2versus milling time. The model can be applied for various 2D materials, in which nanosheets are bounded by Van der Waals's forces.