A novel sulphur decorated 1-D MoO3 nanorods: Facile synthesis and high performance for photocatalytic reduction of hexavalent chromium

Abstract

In the present study, we report a simple approach for the fabrication of novel sulphur decorated MoO3 nanorods (S@MoO3 nanorods) by using simple solution process method for the very first time. The phase structural, morphology and optical properties of the as-prepared nanomaterials were comparatively characterized. The sulphur (S) nanosheets were well decorated on the surface of MoO3 rods which was clearly observed from TEM images. The applicability of the as synthesized S@MoO3 nanocomposite was demonstrated as superior photocatalyst for the photocatalytic reduction of toxic hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) to nontoxic trivalent chromium Cr(III) under visible light illumination. The photocatalytic reduction results suggested that the 1% of S@MoO3 nanorods was exhibited excellent visible light photocatalytic activity efficiency compared to pure MoO3, S and other S@MoO3 nanocomposites. The enhancement in the photocatalytic performance of 1% S@MoO3 nanorods was mainly attributed to the strong absorption in visible region and low recombination or high separation efficiency for photogenerated electrons and holes. The trapping experiments reveals that O2¯ radical species was strongly supported for the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI). The present protocols reported open up an S decorated photocatalyst might be a potential candidate for Cr(VI) removal in environmental.