Fabrication of highly efficient carbon coated exfoliated tungsten disulfide nanosheets core-shell nanostructure as a promising solar-light driven photocatalyst. (November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Prabhakar Vattikuti, S.V.; Shome, Sanchari; Koyyada, Ganesh; Shim, Jasool; Jung, Jae Hak
• Is Part Of: Materials research bulletin. Volume 107(2018)
• Page Start: 446
• Page End: 455
• Publication Date: 2018-11
• Subjects: Carbon -- Photocatalyst -- Core-shell structure -- Solar light -- Pollutants -- WS2; Materials -- Periodicals; Crystal growth -- Periodicals; Matériaux -- Périodiques; Cristaux -- Croissance -- Périodiques; Crystal growth; Materials; Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.materresbull.2018.07.032
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-5408

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: Investigated the benefits of exfoliation mechanism of WS2 nanosheets. C@e-WS2 was successfully synthesized via two step exfoliation -hydrothermal process. C@e-WS2 core-shell confirmed by HRTEM. C@e-WS2 core-shell photocatalyst exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity. Photodegradation mechanism of C@e-WS2 photocatalyst is elucidated and discussed. Abstract: Exfoliated Tungsten disulfide (e-WS2 ) nanosheets were obtained from bulk Tungsten disulfide (WS2 ) in a liquid-phase ultrasonic exfoliation method using a DMF solvent. Core-shell mannered carbon coating was developed by hydrothermal process on exfoliated Tungsten disulfide (e-WS2 ) to enhance the efficient charge separation, specific surface area with mesoporosity and stability for chemical processes and mechanical strains. The carbon coated e-WS2 nanosheets (C@e-WS2 ) was performed by series of characterization techniques and explored to the photocatalytic degradation of malachite green (MG) dye by comparing with bulk WS2 and e-WS2 . Among all the photocatalysts highest performance was observed for the C@e-WS2 . C@e-WS2 catalyst displays more than 11 fold enhancements in the photocomposition rate of MG over bulk WS2 and nearly 8 fold improvements over e-WS2 for 90 min irradiation. In addition, for complete degradation of MG dye over the bulk WS2, e-WS2, and C@e-WS2 catalysts were observed at 150, 130, and 90 min under simulated solar light irradiation. The results obtained using core-shell mannered C@e-WS2 are stepping stone for developing cost-effective and noble metal-free catalysts for photodegradation.