Intercalation oxidation: A strategy for MoS2 modification to enable photodegradation of pollutants

MoS2 and related modified materials have received more attention as core technologies in mineralized dye molecules, and the injection of intercalators into MoS2 interlayers to change the MoS2 layer spacing to obtain materials with desirable photocatalytic properties is the current trend in modification. Herein, intercalated oxide materials (MSMO/T) were prepared by oxygen-limited calcination, in which the chemical composition and the resulting structure can be effectively controlled to obtain the desired performance for photocatalytic degradation of pollutants by simply changing the calcination temperature. Due to the beneficial structure of MoS2-MoO3 formed by oxygen intercalation and the Z-type heterojunction formed between it and TiO2, the catalytic performance is presented that is superior to that of a single material. Specifically, the MoS2 is structurally engineered and bound by oxygen intercalation layers. Effective mineralized degradation of pollutants under visible light can be achieved within 120 min without external push, and the relevant characterization demonstrates excellent photoelectric properties and long-term durability, making it an efficient catalyst for degrading dye molecules in water. This work provides an efficient and convenient way to modify transition metal disulfides for use as advanced materials for photocatalysis as well as other applications.