Fabrication of MoS2/TiO2 heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Two-dimensional nanophotocatalysts MoS₂/TiO₂ with a tunable decoration amount of MoS₂ nanosheets were fabricated through a hydrothermal route. The microstructure and photocatalytic behaviors of the as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, electrochemical workstation, dye degradation and water splitting experiments. The result shows that these composites exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity for RhB degradation and hydrogen generation. Nearly 95% photocatalytic degradation of RhB was obtained for 2 h and 1.93 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ hydrogen production rate was achieved over MoS₂/TiO₂ at a MoS₂ content of 10 wt%. And the corresponding photocurrent density of the composite photoelectrode was 5 times higher than that of pristine TiO₂ architectures. It is believed that the boosted photocatalytic performance of the heterostructure could be ascribed to the synergetic effect between MoS₂ and TiO₂, which accelerated the separation and migration efficiency of charge carriers as well as enhancing the light-harvest efficiency.