Preparation of MoS2/CdS/TNAs ternary composite structures and study of their photocatalytic properties

Abstract

TiO2 has long been favored by researchers as a representative of semiconductor photocatalysts. Titanium dioxide nanotubes (TNAs) have a larger specific surface area, which makes them more valuable for the design of photocatalyst carriers. CdS is also a typical photocatalytic semiconductor material with a narrow bandwidth, which has a better performance in the visible light region. However, it also has certain problems such as photocorrosion. The composite MoS2 has a better inhibition effect. In this study, MoS2 and CdS were composited on TNAs using electrochemical deposition for the first time, and MoS2/CdS/TNAs (MCT) ternary composite nanostructures were successfully prepared. The effects of electrochemical deposition voltage, reaction time, and the ratios of molybdenum and sulfur sources in the electrolyte on the MCT composite structures were investigated. In this work, the photocatalytic degradation of organic water pollutants was simulated using methylene blue, and the degradation rate reached 93.1% at 150 min. After cycling the degradation experiments for five times, the photocatalysts still had good stability. The results showed that the MCT has good photocatalytic activity, which provides a feasible way for TNAs in the design of photocatalyst carriers.