One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Visible-Light-Responsive MoS2/g-CNO Heterostructures for Organic-Pollutant Degradation

• Published in: European journal of inorganic chemistry 2016-08, Vol.2016 (24), p.3912-3920
• Main Authors: Joy, Mega, Nair, Balagopal N., Mohamed, Abdul Azeez Peer, Warrier, Krishna Gopakumar, Hareesh, Unnikrishnan Nair S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Heterostructures; Molybdenum; Nitrides; Photocatalysis; Photochemistry
• ISSN: 1434-1948; 1099-0682
• DOI: 10.1002/ejic.201600232

MoS2/g‐CNO (g‐CNO = oxidized graphitic carbon nitride) heterostructures were synthesized by a one‐step low‐temperature hydrothermal route. The hydrolysis and oxidation reactions during the hydrothermal synthesis provide a fivefold increase in the surface area of the carbon nitride matrix. The heterostructure formation between MoS2 and the g‐CNO matrix induced reduced recombination effects, and 1 wt.‐% MoS2/g‐CNO composites showed the highest photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of organic pollutants under visible‐light irradiation. Moreover, owing to the presence of groups with negative inductive effects in g‐CNO and g‐CNO‐based composites, the photocatalytic activities were higher than that of bare g‐C3N4. Recyclability studies on the synthesized catalysts indicated no loss of efficiency after four cycles. Thus, these MoS2/g‐CNO heterostructures are promising photocatalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants. Heterojunction catalysts with MoS2 integrated into oxidized graphitic carbon nitride material are synthesized by a one‐step hydrothermal route. The materials are reusable photocatalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants.