Highly effective photocatalytic performance of {001}-TiO2/MoS2/RGO hybrid heterostructures for the reduction of Rh B

Abstract

Effective separation and rapid transfer of photogenerated electron–hole pairs are key features of photocatalytic materials with high catalytic activity, which could be achieved in co-catalysts. It is reported that the two-dimensional (2D) MoS₂ is a promising co-catalyst due to its unique semi-conductive properties and graphene-like layered structure. However, the application of MoS₂ as a co-catalyst is limited by its poor electrical conductivity. On the other hand, it is worth noting that TiO₂ possesses reactive crystal facets, which is one of the dominant mechanisms for the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. In this work, we prepared MoS₂/RGO hybrids as co-catalysts which were doped to TiO₂ with highly reactive {001} planes via the hydrothermal method. It was found that the {001}-TiO₂/MoS₂/RGO photocatalysts with 7 wt% MoS₂/RGO co-catalyst show the highest photodegradation activity for the degradation of Rh B under visible light irradiation (λ > 400 nm), which could result from the synergy of the effective separation of electron–hole pairs by the {001} facets in TiO₂ and the rapid transfer of electron–hole pairs in MoS₂/RGO. The results show that the {001}-TiO₂/MoS₂/RGO hybrid is a low-cost and stable photocatalyst for the effective degradation of Rh B under visible light.