Hybrid Phase MoS2 as a Noble Metal-Free Photocatalyst for Conversion of Nitroaromatics to Aminoaromatics

Molybdenum sulfide has attracted intense attention owing to unique heteromorphism. A natural molybdenum sulfide shows a semiconductive 2H crystal structure, while another metallic 1T-MoS2 exhibits a higher catalytic activity. However, the strict synthetic condition and the metastable property of 1T-MoS2 have limited its application. Hybrid-phase 1T/2H-MoS2 possesses both higher catalytic activity than 2H-MoS2 and better thermal/chemical stability than 1T-MoS2, which is a more promising candidate in the catalytic field. As for photocatalytic field, 2H-MoS2 has been only used as a cocatalyst but not as an individual photocatalyst due to its fast electron-hole recombination level and nonideal surface active site nature. Hybrid-phase MoS2 would provide a proper solution for individual MoS2 as a photocatalyst because 1T sites can collect photoelectrons and provide active sites for various reactions. In this work, we report a hybrid-phase MoS2 synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method, which is applied to the photocatalytic conversion of a series of nitroaromatics to aminoaromatics. The reactions are not favorable with natural 2H-MoS2, which reveals new potential of MoS2 as a noble metal-free photocatalyst.

Automated summary

Molybdenum sulfide is attracting significant attention due to its unique heteromorphism, with the hybrid-phase MoS2 showing promise as a catalyst and potential photocatalyst. The synthesized hybrid-phase MoS2 exhibits higher catalytic activity and better stability than the natural 2H-MoS2 and metastable 1T-MoS2, indicating its potential as a noble metal-free photocatalyst in the conversion of nitroaromatics to aminoaromatics.