Synthesis of metal-phase-assisted 1T@2H-MoS2 nanosheet-coated black TiO2 spheres with visible light photocatalytic activities

Hybrid-phase-MoS 2 (1T@2H-MoS 2 ) nanosheet-coated black TiO 2 spheres (1T@2H-MoS 2 /B-TiO 2 ) were prepared using a hydrothermal method and a chemical reduction method under an argon atmosphere. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated the generation of the 1T@2H-MoS 2 and black TiO 2 . The efficiency of the 1T@2H-MoS 2 /B-TiO 2 core–shell structure degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) reached 98.0%. The high photocatalytic activity was due to the presence of 1T-MoS 2 , which accelerated the electron transfer to participate in the redox reaction. In addition, the presence of B-TiO 2 suppressed the undesirable electron–hole recombination. Finally, the synergistic effect between 1T@2H-MoS 2 and B-TiO 2 promoted the separation of the photoelectron–hole pairs. Moreover, scavenger studies found that the hydroxyl radical ( • OH) was the dominant reactive oxygen species in the degradation of RhB under visible light irradiation. The possible growth mechanism and photocatalytic mechanism are discussed in detail. The results of this study will contribute to the improvement in the visible light absorption and photocatalytic degradation of catalysts.