Ultrasonically-assisted synthesis of CeO2 within WS2 interlayers forming type II heterojunction for a VOC photocatalytic oxidation

[Display omitted] •Utilisation of ultrasonically exfoliated 2D WS2 as hard template for CeO2 growth.•Simple hydrothermal approach for synthesising CeO2@WS2 heterojunction.•Formation of efficient type (II) heterojunction between WS2 and CeO2.•Proving the Ce-S bonding by XRD and density functional calculations.•Formic acid photocatalytic oxidation activity, producing 446.7 µmol g −1 CO2. Here, we investigate the band structure, density of states, photocatalytic activity, and heterojunction mechanism of WS2 with CeO2 (CeO2@WS2) as a photoactive heterostructure. In this heterostructure, CeO2′s growth within WS2 layers is achieved through ultrasonicating WS2 and intercalating CeO2′s precursor within the WS2 interlayers, followed by hydrothermal treatment. Through a set of density functional calculations, we demonstrate that CeO2 and WS2 form an interface through a covalent bonding that can be highly stable. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) found that the CeO2@WS2 heterostructure exhibits a remarkably higher conductivity (22.23 mS cm−2) compared to either WS2 and CeO2, assignable to the interface in CeO2@WS2. Furthermore, in a physically mixed CeO2-WS2 where the interaction between particles is noncovalent, the resistance was significantly higher (0.67 mS cm−2), confirming that the heterostructure in the interface is covalently bonded. In addition, Mott-Schottky and the bandgap measurements through Tauc plots demonstrate that the heterojunction in CeO2 and WS2 is type II. Eventually, the CeO2@WS2 heterostructure indicated 446.7 µmol g −1 CO2 generation from photocatalytic oxidation of a volatile organic compound (VOC), formic acid, compared to WS2 and CeO2 alone.