Facile synthesis of MoS2 modified TiO2 nanospheres with enhanced photoelectrocatalytic activity

Abstract

MoS2/TiO2 nanocomposites composed of MoS2 nanosheets and TiO2 nanospheres have been successfully prepared by a facile hydrothermal process. The as-prepared MoS2/TiO2 samples with different MoS2 content have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show TiO2 nanospheres with uniform size can improve the dispersion and decrease the aggregation of MoS2 nanosheets. The best morphology and size of MoS2/TiO2 nanocomposites can be obtained when the content of MoS2 is 70 wt% (M-7). UV-vis data show that MoS2/TiO2 samples have better absorption in visible light region compared to pure MoS2 and TiO2. The photoelectrocatalytic activity of MoS2/TiO2 samples has been evaluated by the photocurrent measurement. The results show that MoS2/TiO2 nanocomposites with MoS2 content of 70 wt% (M-7) have the highest photocurrent which implies best photoelectrocatalytic activity of M-7. The reason may be that the suitable content of MoS2 and the tight junction between MoS2 and TiO2 nanosphers is helpful for preventing the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes.