In situ fabrication of 2D Ti3C2/1T&2H-MoS2/TiO2 photocatalyst for sulfamethazine degradation

• Published in: Journal of environmental chemical engineering 2024-10, Vol.12 (5), p.113527, Article 113527
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yan, Cheng, Jingui, Zhang, Genlin, Xu, Shiwu, Zhang, Jinli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Charge separation; Degradation; Heterojunction; Light-harvesting; Sulfamethazine
• ISSN: 2213-3437
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2024.113527

Sunlight-driven photocatalysis is a very appealing approach for solving the current energy crisis because it will not cause secondary pollution. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has attracted much attention in the field of photocatalysis due to its simple preparation, environmental friendliness and easy modification. However, reducing the band gap and expanding the light absorption range to reduce the carrier recombination rate of TiO2 is still a huge challenge. Herein, we report a two-dimensional (2D) Ti3C2/1 T&2 H-MoS2/TiO2 photocatalyst obtained by in situ growth of a 1 T&2 H-MoS2/TiO2 Z-scheme heterojunction on a highly conductive Ti3C2 MXene surface. The spectral response range of the resulting Ti3C2/1 T&2 H-MoS2/TiO2 (Ti3C2:1 T&2 H-MoS2:TiO2= 1:10:10) photocatalyst was broadened to 696 nm and the band gap was reduced to 1.83 eV, which was responsible for the strong light-harvesting capacity and improved charge separation. The activity of the Ti3C2/1 T&2 H-MoS2/TiO2 photocatalyst was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethazine (SMZ). The degradation rate of SMZ reached 99.8 % after 90 min of illumination. These results demonstrate that the combination of Ti3C2 MXene and heterojunction is a feasible strategy to enhance the light-harvesting capacity and charge transport in photocatalytic reaction. [Display omitted] •A 2D composite was obtained by in-situ growth of 1 T＆2 H-MoS2/TiO2 on Ti3C2 surface.•Ti3C2/1 T＆2 H-MoS2/TiO2 showed excellent catalytic activity for SMZ degradation.•1 T&2 H-MoS2/TiO2 Z-scheme heterojunction enhanced light-harvesting capacity.•The high conductive Ti3C2 MXenes accelerated the charge separation.