Selective hydrothermally synthesis of hexagonal WS2 platelets and their photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation

Hexagonal WS2 platelets have been synthesized via simple hydrothermal synthesis method. The hexagonal WS2 is formed by the oriented attachment (OA)-self-assembly (SA). The thickness of the WS2 platelets was between similar to 20 and 100 nm. The specific surface area of these platelets is 94.63 m(2) g(-1). The hexagonal WS2 platelets exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity compared to irregular WS2 platelets for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. This work paves the method for designing hexagonal shaped WS2 platelets with great potential for a wide spectrum of applications in photocatalysis. Moreover, this synthetic procedure may open up an opportunity to tailor the morphologies of the other nanomaterials especially transition metal sulfides. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.