Research into layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), most notably those of molybdenum and tungsten disulfides, has become extensive, involving fields as diverse as optoelectronics, spintronics, energy storage, lubrication, and catalysis. The modification of TMDCs by transition metal doping can improve their performance in such applications and hence extend their potential for technological applications. This review concerns the synthetic strategies that have been used to incorporate transition metals into TMDCs and the applications of the resultant materials and relevant computational studies on the predicted properties of the doped materials.

The liquid-phase exfoliation of tin(II) sulfide to produce SnS nanosheets in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone is reported. The material is characterized by Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, lattice-resolution scanning transmission electron microscope imaging, and energy dispersive X-ray spectrum imaging. Quantum chemical calculations on the optoelectronic characteristics of bulk and 10-layer down to monolayer SnS have been performed using a quantum chemical density functional tight-binding approach. The optical properties of the SnS and centrifugally fractionated SnS nanosheet dispersions were compared to that predicted by theory. Through centrifugation, bilayer SnS nanosheets can be produced size-selectively. The scalable solution processing of semiconductor SnS nanosheets is the key to their commercial exploitation and is potentially an important step toward the realization of a future electronics industry based on two-dimensional materials.

We report the electrochemical detection of the redox active cardiac biomarker myoglobin (Mb) using aptamer-functionalized black phosphorus nanostructured electrodes by measuring direct electron transfer. The as-synthesized few-layer black phosphorus nanosheets have been functionalized with poly-l-lysine (PLL) to facilitate binding with generated anti-Mb DNA aptamers on nanostructured electrodes. This aptasensor platform has a record-low detection limit (∼0.524 pg mL(-1)) and sensitivity (36 μA pg(-1) mL cm(-2)) toward Mb with a dynamic response range from 1 pg mL(-1) to 16 μg mL(-1) for Mb in serum samples. This strategy opens up avenues to bedside technologies for multiplexed diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases in complex human samples.

Perpendicularly orientated ZnO rods have been grown on thin ZnO templates, from aqueous solutions of zinc acetate and hexamethylenetetraamine (HMT); growth along the c-axis of the ZnO crystallites is promoted by the presence of acetate in the bath.