Molybdenum Sulfide Quantum Dots Decorated on TiO2 for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has been identified as an active non-noble-metal-based cocatalyst for photocatalytic water splitting. Here, a TiO 2 nanoplate/amorphous MoS 2 quantum dot (a-MoS 2 ) composite was developed via in situ sulfuration of MoO 3 /TiO 2 . Due to intimate chemical bonding instead of electrostatic adsorption between TiO 2 and MoO 3, effective transfer of electrons from TiO 2 to a-MoS 2 is achieved. Additionally, a-MoS 2 with an outstanding electron conveying ability can function as an electron collector and catalytic sites. As a result, the obtained a-MoS 2 /TiO 2 nanocomposite achieved an average yield of H 2 up to 371 μmol·g –1 ·h –1 when the content of the cocatalyst was 1.5 wt %, which is 309 and 79 times those of bare TiO 2 and trigonally coordinated MoS 2 /TiO 2, respectively. The highest yield rate of H 2 up to 880.3 μmol·g –1 ·h –1 was obtained over a-MoS 2 /TiO 2 . This work may provide a wider perspective on the preparation of a low-cost cocatalyst with high conversion efficiency, to replace other commonly used MoS 2 -based cocatalysts to solve the energy crisis.