In the present study, MoO₃:MoS₂ hybrid thin layers have been synthesized through partial oxidation of MoS₂. We have demonstrated that the reaction requires darkness conditions to decrease the oxidation rate, thus obtaining the hybrid, MoO₃:MoS₂. A simple liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) is carried out to achieve homogenous MoS₂ nanoflakes and high reproducibility of the results after MoS₂ oxidation. XPS analyses reveal the presence of MoO₃, MoS₂, and MoOxSy in the hybrid layer. These results are also confirmed by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution TEM. Optical absorbance reveals that the absorption peaks of the MoO₃:MoS₂ hybrid are slightly redshifted with the appearance of absorption peaks in the near-infrared region due to the defects created after the oxidation reaction. The composition and atomic percentages of each component in the hybrid layer as a function of reaction time have also been reported to give perspective guides for improving electronic and optoelectronic devices based on 2D-MoS₂.

In order to grow semi-transparent organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs), multilayer dielectric/metal/dielectric (D/M/D) structures are used as a transparent top electrode in inverted OPVs. Two different electrodes are probed, MoO₃/Ag/MoO₃ and MoO₃/Ag/Cu:Ag/ZnS. Both of them exhibit high transmission in visible and small sheet resistance. Semi-transparent inverted OPVs using these electrodes as the top anode are probed. The active organic layers consist in the SubPc/C₆₀ couple. The dependence of the OPV performances on the top electrode was investigated. The results show that far better results are achieved when the top anode MoO₃/Ag/MoO₃ is used. The OPV efficiency obtained was only 20% smaller in comparison with the opaque OPV, but with a transparency of nearly 50% in a broad range of the visible light (400–600 nm). In the case of MoO₃/Ag/Cu:Ag/ZnS top anode, the small efficiency obtained is due to the presence of some Cu diffusion in the MoO₃ layer, which degrades the contact anode/organic material.