Preparation of WS2–TiO2–Au using hydrothermal synthesis for photocatalysis under visible light

Abstract

In this study, the preparation of ternary photocatalyst using a simple hydrothermal method is shown with high performance. A ternary composite consisting of tungsten sulfide (WS[Formula: see text] nanosheets, titanium oxide (TiO[Formula: see text] and gold (Au) nanoparticles is used to the extend the visible-light absorption region of TiO2. The morphological and spectroscopic natures of the prepared sample were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) photospectroscopy. The photocatalysis measurement for photodegradation of methylene blue dye was performed under the visible light. The photocatalytic studies suggest that in the ternary composite, consisting of three materials with different energy levels, the electrons excited form a cycle to lower the probability for the recombination of electron–hole pairs enhancing the property of photocatalytic activity of TiO2.