Multifunctional MoS2 Nanocatalysts for Water Disinfection

Water disinfection is an important issue in the world. Nearly one billion of people are sick or dead on account of the water which full of bacteria. To solve this problem, scientists have used semiconductor nanomaterials as photocatalysts to replace the traditional sewage treatments which are high cost and toxic. Under light irradiation, those nanomaterials will generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) with water and oxygen. However, in most cases they are inefficient because traditional photocatalysts can only absorb ultraviolet light (only accounts for 10% in solar energy). Therefore, we developed MoS2 catalysts, which can generate ROS under visible light (50% in solar energy) in this paper. Furthermore, by growing Au nanoparticles on the surface of MoS2 (Au-MoS2), its disinfection efficiency can be better than commercial TiO2. We believe the as-developed Au-MoS2 has great potential for water disinfection application in the near future.