Few-Layered mos₂ Nanoparticles Covering Anatase tio₂ Nanosheets: Comparison Between Ex-Situ and in-Situ Synthesis Approaches

Abstract

MoS2/TiO2 nanostructures made of MoS2 nanoparticles covering TiO2 nanosheets have been synthesized, either via ex-situ or in-situ approaches. Morphology and structure of MoS2/TiO2 hybrid nanostructures have been investigated and imaged by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), while the vibrational and the optical properties have been investigated by Raman, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV−visible (UV-Vis) techniques. The different stacking degrees together with the size distribution of the MoS2 nanosheets, decorating the TiO2 nanosheets, have been carefully obtained from HRTEM images. The nature of the surface sites on the main exposed faces of both materials has been detected by means of in-situ FTIR spectra of adsorbed CO probe molecule. The results coming from the ex-situ and in-situ approaches will be compared, by highlighting the role of the synthesis processes in affecting morphology and structure of MoS2 nanosheets, including their curvature, surface defects, and stacking order. Some more, it will be shown that the in-situ approach is affecting the reactivity of the TiO2 nanosheets too, hence in turn affects the MoS2/TiO2 nanosheets interaction.