Lei Chen, Ziliang Liu, Manyao Wang, Wei Chen, Jun Li, Hui Qiao
Abstract Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) possesses a van der Waals layered structure, a tunable layer-dependent bandgap, and strong light-matter interactions, making it a promising candidate for applications in flexible, high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, its practical application in photodetectors is limited by intrinsically low carrier mobility and disordered interlayer stacking, which lead to insufficient light absorption and low photoconversion efficiency. To overcome these limitations, we converted GO into reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via hydrothermal reduction and inserted it into the MoS₂ interlayer, driving self-assembly to form a hierarchical MoS₂/rGO flower-like (MRF) structure. A photoelectrochemical (PEC)-type photodetector based on the MRF structure exhibits significantly enhanced visible-light response, achieving a high responsivity of 153.4 μ A W −1 under illumination intensities of 160 mW cm −2 , along with fast rise ( t r = 95 ms) times. These performance improvements stem from its flower-like morphology, which effectively suppresses MoS₂ stacking and enhances light absorption, thereby promoting carrier generation. Simultaneously, the intercalated rGO not only effectively improves the overall carrier mobility of the system but also suppresses electron–hole recombination, achieving highly efficient photoelectric conversion. It is worth noting that the van der Waals interaction between the rGO and MoS₂ layers enhances the structural integrity and ensures the long-term stability of the device, with the photocurrent density remaining almost unchanged during a continuous 12 h switching cycle. In summary, this self-assembled heterostructure provides a promising strategy for developing optoelectronic devices with both high responsivity and fast response.