MoS3 loaded TiO2 nanoplates for photocatalytic water and carbon dioxide reduction

Photocatalytic water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction provide us clean and sustainable energy resources. The carbon dioxide reduction is also the redemption of the greenhouse effect. MoS3/TiO2 photocatalysts based on TiO2 nanoplates have been synthesized via a hydrothermal acidification route for water and carbon dioxide reduction reactions. This facile approach generates well dispersed MoS3 with low crystallinity on the surface of TiO2 nanoplates. The as-synthesized MoS3/TiO2 photocatalyst showed considerable activity for both water reduction and carbon dioxide reduction. The thermal treatment effects of TiO2, the loading percentage of MoS3 and the crystalline phase of TiO2 have been investigated towards the photocatalytic performance. TiO2 nanoplate synthesized through hydrothermal reaction with the presence of HF acid is an ideal semiconductor material for the loading of MoS3 for photocatalytic water and carbon dioxide reduction simultaneously in EDTA sacrificial solution. (C) 2016 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics. All rights reserved.