Preparation of a TiO2–MoS2 nanoparticle-based composite by solvothermal method with enhanced photoactivity for the degradation of organic molecules in water under UV light

Abstract

The MoS2 nanocrystals coupled with anatase nanoparticles were prepared by the solvothermal method at relatively low temperatures. It was determined that the materials consisted of 15–20 nm diameter anatase nanoparticles with highly dispersed MoS2 nanocrystals of approximately 3–7 nm in size. Visible light absorption in the MoS2–TiO2 samples increased with the MoS2 content. However, their lambda edges (λedge) remained almost identical at approximately 390 nm, meaning that MoS2 did not cause a red shift in the anatase bandgap energy. The hybrid MoS2-anatase materials had higher surface area (70–124 m2 g−1) than commercial TiO2 (P25) (50 m2 g−1). The MoS2-anatase hybrid nanocrystals showed enhanced activity in the oxidation of methylene blue in water under UV light irradiation. A photomechanism able to elucidate the observed dye decolourisation was suggested. ; This work was funded by the Government of Aragon and 'La Caixa' Ref. GA-LC-041/2008 and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Ref. EUI2008-00152. ; Peer reviewed