Improved photocatalytic activity of MoS2 nanosheets decorated with SnO2 nanoparticles

MoS2 nanosheets decorated with SnO2 mesoporous nanoparticles were successfully prepared by a facile two-step method. The MoS2 nanosheets were pre-synthesized using a solvothermal method and then decorated with the SnO2 mesoporous nanoparticles through a wet chemical method. The nanocomposite was characterized with powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersed spectrometry (EDX), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), thermal gravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). SnO2 mesoporous nanoparticles can be selectively formed and attached to the peripheral surface of the layered MoS2, which was confirmed by FESEM and HRTEM. The photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite was examined with Rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution under UV light irradiation. The SnO2 nanoparticles remarkably suppressed the electron-hole recombination effect on the MoS2 photocatalyst and improved the photocatalytic activity compared to a pristine MoS2 catalyst. A higher rate of pollutant degradation was accomplished within 50 min that was three times higher than that of the pristine MoS2 catalyst.