Direct growth of nanostructural MoS2 over the h-BN nanoplatelets: An efficient heterostructure for visible light photoreduction of CO2 to methanol

Abstract

Abstract Photocatalytic conversion of CO2 has attracted immense attention as a clean and sustainable approach to produce chemicals and fuels. Several semiconductors and heterojunction-based photocatalysts have been explored for efficient conversion of CO2 into high-value chemicals and opened new opportunities for tailoring optoelectronic properties of 2D materials. In the present study, nanostructural molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is grown over the hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanoplatelets by a hydrothermal approach and prepared the h-BN-MoS2 heterostructure. The chemical, structural, morphological, and optical features of h-BN-MoS2 hybrid are evaluated using XPS, Raman, XRD, HRTEM, UV–vis, and PL analyses. The potential of h-BN-MoS2 hybrid as a photocatalyst is explored for photoreduction of CO2 under the visible light irradiation. Pristine h-BN and MoS2 nanomaterials are not pertinent for the photoreduction of CO2 as former is inactive and later afforded a low yield in comparison to h-BN-MoS2 hybrid under identical conditions. The effective charge separation in h-BN-MoS2 hybrid extended the life of photo-excited electrons and enhanced the photoreduction of CO2. The maximum yield of methanol using h-BN-MoS2 hybrid is found to be 5994 μmol.g−1cat, which is 3.8 folds higher than the pristine MoS2 under the visible light irradiation.