Facile and Cost‐Efficient Synthesis of Quasi‐0D/2D ZnO/MoS₂ Nanocomposites for Highly Enhanced Visible‐Light‐Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants and Antibiotics

Abstract

Nanoscale transition-metal dichalcogenide materials showed promising potential for visible-light responsive photocatalysis. Here, we report our investigations on the synthesis of heterodimensional nanostructures of two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin MoS nanosheets interspersed with ZnO nanoparticles by using a facile two-step method consisting of sonication-aided exfoliation technique followed by a wet chemical process. The photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposites was examined by studying the degradation of different organic dye pollutants and tetracycline, a common antibiotic, under visible-light irradiation. It is found that within 30 min more than 90 % of the model organic dye was photodegraded by the optimized quasi-0D/2D hybrid nanomaterial. The reaction rate of pollutant degradation is about five and eight times higher than those of the pristine MoS naonosheets and P25 photocatalysts, respectively. The outstanding photocatalytic activity of the heterodimensional hybrids can be attributed to a few beneficial features from the synergetic effects. Most importantly, the intimate junction between ZnO and MoS facilitates the separation of photogenerated carriers, leading to the enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency. A tentative photocatalytic degradation mechanism was proposed and tested. Overall, the present work provides valuable insights for the exploration of cost-effective nanoscale heterodimensional hybrids constructed from atomically thin layered materials.

2D CTAB-MoSe2 Nanosheets and 0D MoSe2 Quantum Dots: Facile Top-Down Preparations and Their Peroxidase-Like Catalytic Activity for Colorimetric Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide

“…Figure 4 a,b show the high-resolution Mo 3d and Se 3d XPS spectra of pristine MoSe 2 powder, respectively. The two peaks located at 228.1 eV and 231.2 eV correspond to the Mo 3d 5/2 and Mo 3d 3/2 peaks of the Mo 4+ state in MoSe 2 , which is in agreement with previous reports [ 19 , 41 ]. Meanwhile, the peak of Se 3d spectrum can be deconvoluted into two components: the binding energy peaks at 53.4 eV and 54.2 eV are characteristic signals of Se 2− 3d 5/2 and Se 2− 3d 3/2 , respectively [ 42 ].…”

Facile Bottom-up Preparation of WS2-Based Water-Soluble Quantum Dots as Luminescent Probes for Hydrogen Peroxide and Glucose

“…The S 2p peaks at 161.9 eV and 163.1 eV correspond to S 2p 3/2 and S2p 1/2 orbitals of divalent sulfide ions [37, 58]. Together with the binding energy split of 1.2 eV, it indicates the S 2− oxidation state in QDs [11, 37]. Meanwhile, the binding energy at 165.7 eV suggests the existence of bridging disulfides S 2 2− and/or apical S 2− ligands, which may be related to active edge sites [43, 59].…”

“…In comparison with their bulk counterpart, the general advantages of ultra-thin TMDs are the tunable physical properties and the enriched active sites for chemical reactions. As the most popular 2D TMD material, single-layer or multilayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has shown great potential in a wide range of applications, such as electronics, sensors, and photocatalysis [9–11]. Especially, ultrathin atomic-layered MoS 2 holds great promise for constructing biosensors because high specific surface area and ample active surface states make 2D MoS 2 very sensitive to exposure to target analytes.…”

Recent Advances in Endocrine Disrupting Compounds Degradation through Metal Oxide-Based Nanomaterials

“…TiO 2 -based nanostructured materials and membranes have mostly been applied in photocatalytic systems for the removal of antibiotics, such as amoxicillin [177], erythromycin [178], and tetracycline [179]. However, the degradation of tetracycline has been explored using a variety of other metal oxide nanomaterials, often in photo-responsive heterojunctions, such as those based on ZnO [180,181], tungsten oxides [182,183], or bismuthmolybdenum mixed oxide [184]. Other antibiotics raising interest as water contaminants are levofloxacin [185], nitrofurantoin [186], metronidazole [187], and sulfamethoxazole [188].…”