MoS₂ nanosheets vertically grown on RGO by a liquid phase epitaxial method and its visible light photocatalytic properties

MoS₂/RGO heterojunction composite was fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method. Ultra-thin MoS₂ nanosheets were vertically grown on RGO in situ with C–O– functional group at the edges and plane of RGO as nucleation sites. This strong interfacial interaction between MoS₂ and RGO not only can increase the active sites of MoS₂ but also can alleviate the contact resistance between MoS₂ and RGO. Photodegradation of rhodamine (RhB) was adopted to evaluate the photodegradation ability of the products. Photocatalytic degradation performance of MoS₂/RGO composites with different composite ratios was also investigated. The degradation rate of 15 mg 7.5 wt% MoS₂/RGO (RGO:MoS₂) composite for 50 mL RhB solution with a concentration of 20 mg/L within 60 min can reach 96.6%, showing the highest photodegradation activity. The transfer and transport mechanism of photogenerated charges at composite interfaces are discussed in detail to explain the enhanced photocatalytic performance. After five cycles of catalyzing, the photocatalytic performance of MoS₂/RGO composite was not significantly lower.