MoS2 and ZnO nano-heterojunctions with enhanced photo catalysis

Amir Khalid
School of Chemical And Materials Engineering, NUST
ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

The molybdenum disulde

(MoS2)
and
ZnO
nanoheterojunctions
were
successfully
fabricated
through
a
three
step
synthetic
process:
prefabrication of the ZnO
nanoparticles, the synthesis
of MoS2 nanoowers, and the
fabrication
of
MoS2@ZnO
heterojunctions, in which ZnO
nanoparticles were uniformly
self-assembled on the MoS2
nanoowers
by
utilizing
polyethyleneimine
as
a
binding
agent.
The
photocatalytic activities of
the composite samples were
evaluated by monitoring the
photodegradation
of
methylene
blue
(MB).
Compared with pure MoS2
nanoowers, the composites
show
higher
adsorption
capability in dark and better
photocatalytic efciency due
to the increased specic
surface area and improved
electron-hole pair separation.
After irradiation for 100min,
the remaining MB in solution
is about 7.3%. Moreover, the
MoS2-ZnO
heterojunctions
possess
enhanced
eld
emission
properties
with
lower turn-on eld of 3.08V
lm-1and lower threshold eld
of 6.9V lm-1 relative to pure
MoS2 with turn-on eld of
3.65V lm1 and threshold eld
of 9.03V lm-1.

The combination of MoS2 nanoowers, a

narrow band gap p-type semiconductor,
and ZnO nanoparticles, a n-type
semiconductor with a wide band gap and
small sizes will enhance light absorption
from UV to visible, increase the
separation and lifetime of charge
carriers, which can provide potential
applications in photocatalytic and eld
emission elds.

RESULTS OF ZnO/MoS2 JUNCTION

Formation of ZnO nanoparticles and
ZnO/MoS2 composite

EXPERIMENTS
ZnO
nanoparticles
fabricated
via
hydrothermal route from urea solution and
zinc chloride solution.

Fig.2. c) & d) TEM Images of ZnO/MoS2

Composite

MoS2 nanoowers were also synthesized

through hydrothermal method by sodium
molybdate, thiocarbamide and citric acid.
Fig.4. (a) The dependence of the FE
current density (J) on the applied
electric eld strength (E) of MoS2
nanoowers
and
MoS2@ZnO
heterojunctions. The inset is the
schematic
illustration
for
FE
measurement. (b The inset is the eld
emission
photos
for
the
MoS2
nanoowers (left) and MoS2 nanoowers
(right).

MoS2-PEI-ZnO a hybrid is prepared and

annealed
to
remove
PEI
(Polyimmineethylene).

RESULTS OF MOLIBDENUM OXIDE (MoS2)

Molibdenum diSulphide (MoS2)

CONCLUSION
MoS2@ZnO nano-heterojunctions were
successfully fabricated via low-temperature
hydrothermal
method
and
thermal
annealing process.
Fig.3. a) UV-Vis absorption spectra of MoS2
ZnO
nanocomposite
b)
the
photo
degradation rates of Methyl blue MB with
phoocatalyst

RESULTS OF SOLAR CELL

FIG. 7. Schematic diagram of the charge

generation and transfer process under
the UV-vis light in MOS2@ZnO nanoheterojunctions.
Fig.1. a) Low Magnification b) High
Magnification

Compared with pure MoS2 nanoowers,

the composite samples demonstrate
stronger adsorption capabilities in dark and
enhanced photocatalytic activities.
The high photodegradation activity is
attributed to the increased specic surface
area and improved electron-hole pair
separations.
The
eld
MoS2@ZnO
measured.

emission
properties
of
heterojunctions
were

The results indicate the signicantly

enhanced eld emission properties than
those of pure MoS2, because of more
emission sites on the surface of the
composites and the decrease in potential
energy barrier. It can be demonstrated that
the ZnO nanoparticles play important roles.