In Situ Growth of Metallic 1T-MoS2 on TiO2 Nanotubes with Improved Photocatalytic Performance

1T-MoS2 is in situ grown on TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) using a hydrothermal method, forming a 1T-MoS2@TNTs composite, which is confirmed by its physical characterization. The prepared composites show enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride under visible light, and the improved photocatalytic activity is closely related to the loaded amount of 1T-MoS2. Therein, 0.5 wt % 1T-MoS2@TNTs can degrade 57% in 1 h, which is the highest photocatalytic efficiency observed in experiments so far. It is speculated that the introduction of 1T-MoS2 may optimize light absorption and charge separation/transport. The active species are identified and the reaction mechanism is proposed here.

Automated summary

1T-MoS2 is grown in situ on TiO2 nanotubes using a hydrothermal method to form a 1T-MoS2@TNTs composite, showing enhanced photocatalytic performance for tetracycline hydrochloride degradation under visible light. The optimized photocatalytic activity is closely related to the loading amount of 1T-MoS2, where 0.5 wt % 1T-MoS2@TNTs can degrade 57% in 1 hour, the highest efficiency observed experimentally so far. The introduction of 1T-MoS2 is speculated to improve light absorption and charge separation/transport, with identified active species and proposed reaction mechanism.