Enhanced visible light photocatalytic performances of few-layer MoS₂@TiO₂ hollow spheres heterostructures

A novel few-layer MoS₂@TiO₂ hollow sphere heterostructures (MoS₂@TiO₂ HSH) is successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method which is constructed by few-layer MoS₂ grown on TiO₂ hollow spheres. Systematical characterization reveals that the hollow sphere structure was preserved during the hydrothermal process, while the surface of hollow spheres TiO₂ became roughened after the few-layer MoS₂ grown on TiO₂. The MoS₂@TiO₂ HSH showed excellent photocatalytic ability, assessed by the performance of degrading Rhodamine B (RhB) solution under visible light (400 nm ≤λ ≤ 800 nm). The photodegradation rate based on MoS₂@TiO₂ HSH can be 95% after 120 min, which is more efficient than the pure TiO₂ and MoS₂. The reason why the composites have such an excellent photocatalytic performance is the formation of heterostructures enhanced the ability of separating the photogenerated electrons–holes further reduces the electron–hole recombination rate. Our findings will shed light on the design of flexible photocatalysis material. We believe this work will appeal to a broad readership in various research areas including nanomaterials, hierarchical heterostructure and photocatalysis.