Photoluminescence from Single-Walled MoS Nanotubes Coaxially Grown on Boron Nitride Nanotubes.

Single-walled and multiwalled molybdenum disulfide (MoS) nanotubes have been coaxially synthesized on small-diameter boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) that are obtained from removing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in heteronanotubes of SWCNTs coated by BNNTs. The photoluminescence (PL) from single-walled MoS nanotubes supported by core BNNTs is observed in this work, which evidences the direct bandgap structure of single-walled MoS nanotubes with a diameter around 6-7 nm. The observation is consistent with our DFT results that the single-walled MoS nanotube changes from an indirect-gap to a direct-gap semiconductor when the diameter of a nanotube is more than around 5.2 nm. On the other hand, when there are SWCNTs inside the heteronanotubes of BNNTs and single-walled MoS nanotubes, the PL signal from MoS nanotubes is considerably quenched. The charge transfer and energy transfer between SWCNTs and single-walled MoS nanotubes were examined through characterizations by PL, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, the PL signal from multiwalled MoS nanotubes is significantly quenched. Single-walled and multiwalled MoS nanotubes exhibit different Raman features in both resonant and nonresonant Raman spectra.