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. 2015 Oct 27:5:15718.
doi: 10.1038/srep15718.

Eco-friendly synthesis of metal dichalcogenides nanosheets and their environmental remediation potential driven by visible light

Ashish Kumar Mishra  1 , K V Lakshmi  2 , Liping Huang  1
Affiliations

Eco-friendly synthesis of metal dichalcogenides nanosheets and their environmental remediation potential driven by visible light

Ashish Kumar Mishra et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Exfoliated transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as WS2 and MoS2 have shown exciting potential for energy storage, catalysis and optoelectronics. So far, solution based methods for scalable production of few-layer TMDs usually involve the use of organic solvents or dangerous chemicals. Here, we report an eco-friendly method for facile synthesis of few-layer WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets using dilute aqueous solution of household detergent. Short time sonication of varying amount of bulk samples in soapy water was used to scale up the production of nanosheets. Thermal stability, optical absorption and Raman spectra of as-synthesized WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets are in close agreement with those from other synthesis techniques. Efficient photocatalytic activity of TMDs nanosheets was demonstrated by decomposing Brilliant Green dye in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. Our study shows the great potential of TMDs nanosheets for environmental remediation by degrading toxic industrial chemicals in wastewater using sunlight.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Production of WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets.
(a) Schematic illustration of the synthesis process for WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets (drawn by the authors). (b) Resultant concentration of as-synthesized WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets as a function of the initial bulk concentration in 50 ml of di water mixed with 25 mg of detergent (Ultra Tide). Inset image shows the dispersed solutions containing WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Structure of WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets.
SEM images of (a) WS2 and (b) MoS2 nanosheets. TEM images of WS2 (c,e) and MoS2 (d,f) nanosheets. Inset images in (e,f) show the corresponding electron diffraction pattern of WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets, respectively.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Characterization by UV-Visible spectroscopy.
Absorbance spectra of (a) WS2 and (b) MoS2 nanosheets, prepared with different initial concentration of bulk samples indicated in legends.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Characterization by Raman spectroscopy.
Raman spectra for (a) WS2 and (b) MoS2.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Photocatalytic effect of WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets.
Absorbance spectra and concentration variation of BG solution treated with (a,c) WS2 and (b,d) MoS2 nanosheets. Inset images show the corresponding untreated and treated samples.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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