Preparation of air-stable expandable MoS2 and rapid expansion by low temperature heating and electron beam irradiation

We report on the intercalation of a quaternary ammonium salt into MoS2 at ambient conditions and the rapid expansion of the resulting intercalated material – an analogue to expandable graphite – both via low temperature heating and via electron beam irradiation in a scanning electron microscope. In both cases the expansion proceeds within seconds and does not alter the material's chemical properties. The range of expansion under the electron beam depends on the energy and incident angle of the electrons. The intercalated material is air-stable and remains expandable for at least a year.