Superior visible light photocatalysis and low-operating temperature VOCs sensor using cubic Ag(0)-MoS2 loaded g-CN 3D porous hybrid

[Display omitted] •Ordered mesoporous Ag-MoS2@m-CN was synthesized using KIT-6 as hard template.•The nanocomposite shows superior performance toward degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye under visible light.•97% of RhB dye was degraded in 30min of irradiation time.•The nanocomposite based sensor shows excellent selective response toward n-butanol.•A high response (Ra/Rg=115.4@175°C), good stability and selectivity were observed toward 50ppm n-butanol. Two-dimensional materials are incipient as an innovative class of multifunctional elements with promising attributes for energy and environmental applications. Herein, a novel nanohybrid consisting of Ag-MoS2 loaded mesoporous g-C3N4 (herein ‘m-CN’) with ordered structure was synthesized by a nanocasting method using cubic and ordered mesoporous silica (KIT-6) as a hard template. Due to its unique 3D mesoporous architecture, the as-synthesized Ag-MoS2@m-CN nanohybrid revealed excellent visible-light absorption for enhanced charge separation of photo-induced e−–h+ pairs to improve the degradation performance, high stability, and reusability with respect to Rhodamine B (RhB). The measured very high degradation efficiency is explained by synergistic effects from catalytically active Ag and MoS2 nanoparticles cumulatively decorated on the cubic mesoporous m-CN in form 3D mesoporous architecture. Additionally, the Ag-MoS2@m-CN nanohybrid exhibits high response and selectivity toward n-butanol gas at low-operating temperatures for reliable detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The photocatalysis behavior and VOC sensing response of Ag-MoS2@m-CN nanohybrid material are discussed in detail for possible various application avenues toward environmental purifications and monitoring.