The sonochemical functionalization of MoS2 by zinc phthalocyanine and its visible light-induced photocatalytic activity

Here, the synthesis of a molybdenum disulfide-zinc phthalocyanine (MoS2-ZnTTBPc) composite is reported where the scalable synthesis of MoS2 was done by a simple solvothermal route followed by the sonochemical attachment of ZnTTBPc. The as-synthesized material acquires a monolayer with an average thickness of 2 nm. Raman studies give sufficient evidence of the existence of monolayer MoS2 in the MoS2-ZnTTBPc composite. The highly exfoliated plentiful active sites available on the 2D surface of MoS2 efficiently act as photocatalytic reaction centers. Moreover, the high energy transfer efficiency, authenticated by steady-state photoluminescence and time-correlated single photon counting studies, makes the MoS2-ZnTTBPc (3 : 1) composite a promising optoelectronic and photocatalytic material. The photogenerated electrons from the conduction band of ZnTTBPc transfer to the conduction band of MoS2 leaving holes at the valence band of ZnTTBPc, and simultaneously the photogenerated holes from the valence band of MoS2 transfer to the valence band of ZnTTBPc. These well-separated charges reduce the electron-hole recombination probability in the composite, subsequently offering a positive synergetic effect among ZnTTBPc and single-layered MoS2 sheets. It could thus have promise as a new photocatalyst towards removing different organic pollutants and for other optoelectronic devices.