Synthesis of MoS2/SrTiO3 composite materials for enhanced photocatalytic activity under UV irradiation

A novel composite material, MoS2/SrTiO3, has been successfully prepared via a two-step simple hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic performance of MoS2/SrTiO3 composites in the degradation of MO organic dyes under UV-light irradiation and the effect of the loading amount of MoS2 were investigated. For the first time, it was found that the as-prepared composites showed a high degradation rate and that the photocatalytic activity over pure SrTiO3 could be significantly enhanced by loading MoS2. Importantly, there is an optimal loading amount of MoS2 on the SrTiO3 in terms of degradation rate. In addition, the MoS2/SrTiO3 composite material with 0.05 wt% of MoS2 showed the best photocatalytic activity, with a degradation rate as high as 99.81% after 60 min irradiation time. The promoting effect caused by MoS2 can be due to the suppression of recombination between electrons and holes. This study demonstrates high potential for the development of environmentally friendly, cheap non-noble metal composite materials for photocatalytic degradation.