Facile preparation of molybdenum disulfide quantum dots using a femtosecond laser

•The laser irradiation method for manufacturing molybdenum disulfide quantum dots with a size of 10 nm which is simpler than the conventional method was devised.•The n-butyllithium-intercalated laser ablation technique will be useful for the mass production of molybdenum disulfide quantum dots and become a promising candidate for next-generation applications in electronics and catalysis. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is rapidly emerging in a wide range of applications owing to its superior optical, electrical, and catalytic properties. In particular, aside from the current great interest in monolayer MoS2, MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) have received much attention in the electronics and optoelectronics fields owing to their inherent electrical and optical properties arising from the quantum confinement effect. Thus, various methods for producing MoS2 QDs, such as exfoliation, substrate growth, and colloidal synthesis, have been attempted. In this study, the method for manufacturing MoS2 QD with a size of 10 nm which is simpler than the conventional method was devised. On the basis of characterization of the prepared MoS2 QD samples, resistive switching devices was fabricated. These devices demonstrated stable unipolar resistive switching behavior without an electroforming process. This study provides a new approach for the mass production of MoS2 QD and one of their potential applications.