Preparation and characterization of nanocomposite materials consisting of molybdenum disulfide and cobalt(II) coordination complexes

Two layered nanocomposites, [Co(1,10-phen)(3)](y)MoS2 and [Co(2,2'-bpy)(3)](y)MoS2, have been prepared from the interaction of MoS2 single layer dispersions with aqueous solutions of corresponding coordination cationic complexes. The intercalation composites were characterized by X-ray power diffraction, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and BET surface measurements. Each of the composites contains roughly one cobalt complex cation to twenty formula units of MoS2 with interlayer expansions of 9.53 and 10.18 Angstrom, respectively. The intercalated complexes are arranged in a mono-layer fashion between the host MoS2 sheets with the C-3 symmetry axes of the CoN6 octahedrah of the guests perpendicular to the host sheets. In the presence of molecular oxygen, the composites exhibit good catalytic activities in the oxidization of sulfide ions into thiosulfate ions, due to their large surface areas. Their catalytic activities are enhanced upon irradiation with visible light.