Titanium dioxide-molybdenum disulfide for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) was performed using titanium dioxide and molybdenum disulfide (TiO2-MoS2) composites. TiO2-MoS2 composites were synthesized using the sol-gel method. By weight, the ratio of MoS2 to TiO2 was varied from 3:5 to 9:5. The composites showed better photocatalytic degradation of MB compared to pure TiO2 under irradiation of ultraviolet light, and the 7:5 ratio (which was labelled S3) provides the best photodegradation efficiency for MB. TiO2 degraded MB under 180 min while S3 degraded MB under 80 min. The photocurrent response of pure TiO2 was 0.55 mu A, but was increased to 20.08 mu A (S3) after the addition of MoS2. The electrochemical results reveal that the introduction of MoS2 into TiO2 improves the electronic conductivity and the lifetime of the photogenerated charge carriers, resulting in higher photocatalytic behavior in the decomposition of methylene blue.