Highly effective photocatalytic performance of {001}-TiO 2 /MoS 2 /RGO hybrid heterostructures for the reduction of Rh B.

Effective separation and rapid transfer of photogenerated electron-hole pairs are key features of photocatalytic materials with high catalytic activity, which could be achieved in co-catalysts. It is reported that the two-dimensional (2D) MoS 2 is a promising co-catalyst due to its unique semi-conductive properties and graphene-like layered structure. However, the application of MoS 2 as a co-catalyst is limited by its poor electrical conductivity. On the other hand, it is worth noting that TiO 2 possesses reactive crystal facets, which is one of the dominant mechanisms for the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. In this work, we prepared MoS 2 /RGO hybrids as co-catalysts which were doped to TiO 2 with highly reactive {001} planes via the hydrothermal method. It was found that the {001}-TiO 2 /MoS 2 /RGO photocatalysts with 7 wt% MoS 2 /RGO co-catalyst show the highest photodegradation activity for the degradation of Rh B under visible light irradiation ( λ > 400 nm), which could result from the synergy of the effective separation of electron-hole pairs by the {001} facets in TiO 2 and the rapid transfer of electron-hole pairs in MoS 2 /RGO. The results show that the {001}-TiO 2 /MoS 2 /RGO hybrid is a low-cost and stable photocatalyst for the effective degradation of Rh B under visible light.