Novel tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheets for photocatalytic degradation and electrochemical detection of pharmaceutical pollutants

In the present work, a new strategy of “Freeing two birds with one key” was implemented for the photocatalytic degradation and electrochemical sensing of antibiotic nitrofurantoin (NFT) using tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheets. Novel WS2 nanosheets were synthesized through a facile hydrothermal technique. The successful formation of WS2 nanosheets was confirmed by several characterization techniques such as HRTEM, FESEM, XRD, FTIR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and BET isotherms. WS2 nanosheets modified paper electrodes demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of NFT with a wide linear range of 500 μM to 0.01 μM, a lower detection limit of 0.06 μM, and good selectivity. Furthermore, photocatalysis study revealed that WS2 nanosheets exhibited superior photocatalytic activity, successfully degrading 90% of NFT in 120 min. The scavenger study was also investigated for the determination of reactive oxygen species (ROS).