Eco-friendly and Efficient Synthesis of Water-soluble MoS₂ Quantum Dot Probe for Smart Explosive Sensors

The rapid detection of buried landmines has become a crucial concern of global security owing to the advancement in terrorist attacks. Indeed, the development of smart materials for the rapid detection of explosives especially nitro-explosives is the need of time. However, the sensitivity and selectivity of materials for the detection of nitro-explosives are major hurdles due to their low vapour pressure at room temperature. Albeit, it could be resolved by the use of advanced functional nanomaterials bearing high surface area and excellent optoelectronic properties. In this context, the water-soluble MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized by an ultrafast eco-friendly hot injection method and potentially used for the detection of nitro-explosives. The detection of picric acid (PA), 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) and various other nitroaromatic compounds is performed by fluorescent probe technique. Notably, MoS2 QDs have effectively detected picric acid and TNT exhibiting detection limits of 5.13 ppm and 43.93 ppm respectively in water via a photoinduced electron transfer mechanism. Real-time analysis of picric acid employing a paper strip of MoS2 QD as a fluorescent probe clearly demonstrates MoS2 QDs & PRIME; potential for practical usage in explosive detection. This work is patented: Application No. 202121000715 (applied).