Hydrothermal synthesis of novel ternary hierarchical MoS2 /TiO2/clinoptilolite nanocomposites with remarkably enhanced visible light response towards xanthates

Novel ternary heterogeneous MoS2/TiO2/clinoptilolite (MTC) nanocomposites with the hierarchical structure were synthesized via a moderate hydrothermal route. Under visible light illumination, the MTC exhibited remarkably enhanced photodegradation activity towards xanthates because of the excellent adsorption ability of clinoptilolite and effective formation of MoS2/TiO2 heterojunction within the nanocomposites. Degradation behavior of the photocatalysts under different synthesis and application parameters were investigated in detail. The results demonstrated that the kinetics of all the degradation process followed the pseudo-first-order model. Radical scavenger tests indicated that superoxide radical anions (center dot O-2(-)) was the dominant active species in the reaction system. The possible formation mechanism of the ternary hierarchical structure and photodegradation mechanism over the MTC samples were also proposed. The present work reports a novel approach to design and prepare mineral-based photocatalysts, which have a promising application prospect for the treatment of flotation wastewater.

Automated summary

Novel ternary heterogeneous MoS2/TiO2/clinoptilolite (MTC) nanocomposites with hierarchical structure were successfully synthesized via a moderate hydrothermal route, showing enhanced photodegradation activity towards xanthates under visible light. The degradation mechanism was found to follow a pseudo-first-order model, with superoxide radical anions identified as the dominant active species in the reaction system. The study proposes a promising application prospect for mineral-based photocatalysts in treating flotation wastewater.