Hexagonal 2H-MoSe2 broad spectrum active photocatalyst for Cr(VI) reduction

To make full use of the solar energy, exploring broad spectrum active photocatalysts has become one of the core issues for photocatalysis. Here we report a novel hexagonal 2H-MoSe2 photocatalyst with ultraviolet (UV)-visible-near infrared (NIR) light response for the first time. The results indicate that the MoSe2 displays excellent photo-absorption and photocatalytic activity in the reduction of Cr(VI) under UV and visible even NIR light irradiation. MoSe2 synthesized at pH value of 2 achieves the highest Cr(VI) reduction rates of 99%, 91% and 100% under UV, visible and NIR light irradiation, respectively, which should be attributed to its comparatively higher light absorption, efficient charge separation and transfer as well as relatively large number of surface active sites. The excellent broad spectrum active photocatalytic activity makes the MoSe2 to be a promising photocatalyst for the effective utilization of solar energy.