Few-layered metallic 1T-MoS2/TiO2 with exposed (001) facets: two-dimensional nanocomposites for enhanced photocatalytic activities

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) with exposed (001) facets (TiO2(001)) has attractive photocatalytic properties. However, the high recombination rate of the photo-excited charge carriers on this surface often limits its application. Here, we report that a few-layered 1T-MoS2 coating on TiO2(001) nanosheets (abbreviated as MST) can be a promising candidate that overcomes some of the challenges of TiO2(001). Computational and experimental results demonstrate that MST as a photocatalyst exhibits a significantly low-charge recombination rate as well as excellent long-term durability. The synthesized MST 2D nanocomposites show a 31.9% increase in photocatalytic activity for hydrogen (H-2) production relative to the counterpart TiO2(001). MST offers a new route for further improvement of the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 with exposed high energy facets.