Construction of 2D-2D TiO2 nanosheet/layered WS2 heterojunctions with enhanced visible-light-responsive photocatalytic activity

Abstract Constructing nanocomposites that combine the advantages of composite materials, nanomaterials, and interfaces has been regarded as an important strategy to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. In this study, 2D-2D TiO2 nanosheet/layered WS2 (TNS/WS2) heterojunctions were prepared via a hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the photocatalysts were systematically characterized. Layered WS2 (∼4 layers) was wrapped on the surface of TiO2 nanosheets with a plate-to-plate stacked structure and connected with each other by W=O bonds. The as-prepared TNS/WS2 heterojunctions showed higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB under visible-light irradiation, than pristine TiO2 nanosheets and layered WS2. The improvement of photocatalytic activity was primarily attributed to enhanced charge separation efficiency, which originated from the perfect 2D-2D nanointerfaces and intimate interfacial contacts between TiO2 nanosheets and layered WS2. Based on experimental results, a double-transfer photocatalytic mechanism for the TNS/WS2 heterojunctions was proposed and discussed. This work provides new insights for synthesizing highly efficient and environmentally stable photocatalysts by engineering the surface heterojunctions.