Promising MoS2 – ZnO hybrid nanocomposite photocatalyst for antibiotics, and dyes remediation in wastewater applications

In this work, a heterojunction system of ZnO nanorods (NRs) coupling with ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets (NSs) is designed through a facile and green microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The purpose of this research is to investigate the use of a MoS2-ZnO hybrid nanocomposite as a photocatalyst for the degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), trimethoprim (TMP), and meloxicam (MX) antibiotics, as well as Methylene blue (MB), malachite green (MG), and crystal violet (CV) dyes under simulating sunlight. The structural, morphological, optical, and textural properties of pristine ZnO NRs, MoS2 NSs, and their hybrid nanocomposite (MoS2-ZnO) are compared using XRD, TEM, SEM-EDX, UV-DRS, PL, and BET techniques. The MoS2-ZnO hybrid nanocomposite exhibited ZnO characteristic peaks with a very small MoS2 characteristic diffraction peak, indicating the heterojunction formation, as confirmed by TEM results. Furthermore, the MoS2-ZnO hybrid nanocomposite showed enhanced visible light absorption and surface area. The hybrid nanocomposite photocatalytic efficiency is higher than that of pristine ZnO NRs in all photocatalytic experiments. the Formation of heterojunction is the reason for improved performance due to increased charge carrier generation, separation, and transport, as confirmed by the PL technique. Moreover, The MoS2-ZnO revealed 100 % photocatalytic degradation efficiency after 30 min against SMX, MX, and MB pollutants respectively. Furthermore, complete photocatalytic degradation (100 %) is achieved after 90 min in the case of TMP, MG, and CV pollutants. Moreover, the possible photocatalytic mechanism has been clearly described, emphasizing the significance of OH. radicals and singlet oxygen (1O 2) in the degradation process. MoS2-ZnO hybrid nanocomposites can be considered promising photoactive materials for wastewater decontamination.