TiO2 nanorod decorated with MoS2 nanospheres: An efficient dual-functional photocatalyst for antibiotic degradation and hydrogen production

Abstract

The design and preparation of dual-functional photocatalysts for simultaneously realizing photocatalytic wastewater purification and hydrogen energy generation pose significant challenges. This article presents the engineering of a binary heterostructured photocatalyst by combining TiO₂ (nanorods) and MoS₂ nanosphere using a straightforward solvothermal method and the assessment of the phase structures, morphologies, and optical properties of the resulting nanocomposites using diverse analytical techniques. The TiO₂(Rod)/MoS₂ composite exhibits remarkable efficacy in degrading ciprofloxacin, achieving 93% removal rate within 1 h, which is four times higher than that of bare TiO₂. Moreover, the optimized TiO₂(Rod)/MoS₂ presents an outstanding hydrogen production rate of 7415 μmol g^-1, which is ∼24 times higher than that of pristine TiO₂. Under UV-visible light irradiation, the TiO₂(Rod)/MoS₂ heterojunction displays an exceptional photocatalytic performance in terms of both photodegradation and hydrogen production, surpassing the performance of TiO₂ particle/MoS₂. The study findings demonstrate that TiO₂(Rod)/MoS₂ nanocomposites exhibit considerably improved photocatalytic degradation and hydrogen generation activities. Based on the experimental results, a possible mechanism is proposed for the transfer and separation of charge carriers in Z-scheme heterojunctions.

Keywords: Dual-functional photocatalysts; Hydrogen production; Photodegradation; TiO(2)(Rod)/MoS(2); Z-scheme charge carrier.