Construction of SiO2 Decorated 1T/2h-Mos2 for Photocatalytic Degradation of Antibiotic Residues in Water

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a member of promising transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs); however, its practical application is restricted due to the heavy aggregation. 1T/2H-MoS2 decorated with SiO2 nanospheres was successfully prepared through a facile hydrothermal process demonstrating improved behavior for the visible-light-driven treatment of aquatic antibiotic residues. The prepared samples were characterized by XRD, Raman spectra, SEM, TEM, XPS, and KPFM systematically. The improved properties are related to the increased light absorption, decreased accumulation of 1T/2H-MoS2, and the reduced recombination of electron-hole pair due to the introduction of SiO2. Moreover, the scavenger studies confirm that superoxide radicals (center dot O-2), hydroxyl radicals (center dot OH), and holes (h(+)) play a vital role in the photocatalytic degradation of TC-HCl, and a possible mechanism for photocatalysis is discussed. This work provides a promising strategy to modify the photocatalytic performance by simply dispersing the photocatalyst with another component such as SiO2.