Size and Shape’s Effects on the High-Pressure Behavior of WS(2) Nanomaterials

Exploring the behavior of nanocrystals with varying shapes and sizes under high pressure is crucial to understanding the relationship between the morphology and properties of nanomaterials. In this study, we investigated the compression behaviors of WS(2) nanotubes (NT-WS(2)) and fullerene-like nanoparticles (IF-WS(2)) by in situ high-pressure X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the bulk modulus of NT-WS(2) is 81.7 GPa, which is approximately twice as large as that of IF-WS(2) (46.3 GPa). This might be attributed to the fact that IF-WS(2) with larger d-spacing along the c-axis and higher defect density are more compressible under isotropic pressure than NT-WS(2). Thus, the slender NT-WS(2) possess a more stable crystal structure than the IF-WS(2). Our findings reveal that the effects of morphology and size play crucial roles in determining the high-pressure properties of WS(2) nanoparticles, and provide significant insight into the relationship between structure and properties.