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Solution synthesis of two-dimensional zinc oxide (ZnO)/molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) heterostructure through reactive templating for enhanced visible-light degradation of rhodamine B

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Abstract

Numerous inorganic materials have been identified as potential candidates for high-performance photocatalysts. However, their solar-to-energy conversion efficiencies still fail to meet commercial requirements. The main hurdle is the rapid recombination of photoexcited electrons and holes in single-phase materials. A viable predicted approach to suppress charge recombination is coupling two materials to form a two-dimensional (2D) heterostructure that physically separates photoinduced electrons and holes in different layers. In this work, the heterostructure-based paradigm was tested, and a scalable solution synthesis of epitaxial ZnO-MoS2 heterostructure was developed. A 2D ZnO-MoS2 heterostructure was synthesized under hydrothermal conditions by stabilizing intermediate Zn-hydroxide states on a functionalized MoS2 surface. Detailed characterization showed the formation of multilayer heterostructure with MoS2 flakes intercalated between large size ZnO plates. The performance of this heterostructure was evaluated using photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B. A degradation efficiency of 70% was measured within 90 min of visible-light irradiation, almost doubling the efficiency of the corresponding single-phase materials or their physical mixtures.

Graphical Abstract

Epitaxial two-dimensional heterostructures of metal oxide and transition metal dichalcogenide, which physically separates photo-induced electrons and holes in different layers, are synthesized using novel and highly scalable solution-based approach. The heterostructures demonstrate an almost 50% enhancement in photocatalytic efficiency compared to the corresponding single-phase materials or their mixtures due to the suppression of charge recombination.

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The data that supports the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

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Funding

This research was performed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with support from the Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, under Award KC020105- FWP12152. All SEM, TEM, and computational work were performed at EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, which is an Office of Biological and Environmental Research user facility located at PNNL. PNNL is operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy under Contract No. DEAC05-76RLO1830.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    Lili Liu, Ping Chen, Xin Zhang, Libor Kovarik, James J. De Yoreo & Maria L. Sushko

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    James J. De Yoreo & Jun Liu

  3. Energy and Environmental Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    Jun Liu

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  1. Lili Liu
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Contributions

Lili Liu, James J De Yoreo, Jun Liu, and Maria L Sushko designed research; Lili Liu performed research and analyzed all data; Ping Chen and Xin Zhang conducted the photocatalysis experiment; Libor Kovarik helped run HADDF-STEM experiments; Lili Liu and Maria L Sushko wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Lili Liu or Maria L. Sushko.

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Liu, L., Chen, P., Zhang, X. et al. Solution synthesis of two-dimensional zinc oxide (ZnO)/molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) heterostructure through reactive templating for enhanced visible-light degradation of rhodamine B. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater 6, 223 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-023-00780-8

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