Enhanced sunlight driven photocatalytic activity of In2S3 nanosheets functionalized MoS2 nanoflowers heterostructures

Abstract

Visible light-sensitive 2D-layered based photocatalytic systems have been proven one of the effective recent trends. We report the preparation of a 2D-layered based In2S3–MoS2 nanohybrid system through a facile hydrothermal method, capable of efficiently degrading of organic contaminants with remarkable efficiency. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results inferred the attachment of 2D-layered In2S3 sheets with the MoS2 nanoflakes. Field emission SEM studies with chemical mapping confirm the uniform distribution of Mo, In, and S atoms in the heterostructure, affirming sample uniformity. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy results confirm the appearance of 2H-MoS2 and β-In2S3 in the grown heterostructures. UV-DRS results reveal a significant improvement in the optical absorbance and significant bandgap narrowing (0.43 eV) in In2S3–MoS2 nanohybrid compared to pristine In2S3 nanosheets in the visible region. The effective bandgap narrowing facilitates the charge transfer between MoS2 and In2S3 and remarkably improves the synergistic effect. Effective bandgap engineering and improved optical absorption of In2S3–MoS2 nanohybrids are favorable for enhancing their charge separation and photocatalytic ability. The photocatalytic decomposition efficiency of the pristine In2S3 nanosheets and In2S3–MoS2 nanohybrids sample is determined by the decomposing of methylene blue and oxytetracycline molecules under natural sunlight. The optimized In2S3–MoS2 nanohybrids can decompose 97.67% of MB and 76.3% of OTC-HCl molecules solution in 8 min and 40 min of exposure of sunlight respectively. 2D-layered In2S3-MoS2 nanohybrids reveal the tremendous remediation performance towards chemical contaminations and pharmaceutical waste, which indicates their applicability in industrial and practical applications.