Oxidative disproportionation of MoS2/GO to MoS2/MoO3-x/RGO : integrated and plasmonic 2D-multifunctional nanocomposites for solar hydrogen generation from near-infrared and visible regions

TitleOxidative disproportionation of MoS2/GO to MoS2/MoO3-x/RGO : integrated and plasmonic 2D-multifunctional nanocomposites for solar hydrogen generation from near-infrared and visible regions
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsPatra, KKumar, Ghosalya, MKumar, Bajpai, H, Raj, S, Gopinath, CS
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry C
Volume123
Issue35
Pagination 21685-21693
Date PublishedSEP
Type of ArticleArticle
Abstract

Two dimensional (2D) semiconductor materials have been recently demonstrated to be effective plasmonic materials and alternatives to costly noble metals. However, tuning the plasmon resonance of 2D semiconductors and integrating with another material or semiconductor for various applications, such as solar light harvesting, remains a challenge. Herein, we designed a simple and attractive method, which facilitates the diffusion of oxygen from the graphene oxide (GO) layers of the MoS2/GO (MG) composite to oxidize the MoS2 layers significantly due to thermal treatment under inert atmosphere. This is the key step in the formation of MoS2/MoO3-x/RGO (MMR) (x = 0, 0.5, and 1, and all stoichiometries co-exist), due to disproportionation of MoS2/GO, with bulk heterojunctions among the components. The observed behavior is attributed to the oxidation of Mo4+ cations (of MoS2) to higher oxidation states in MMR (Mo(5+ )and Mo6+ of MoO3-x), which also alters the valence-band electronic structure and work function of the resulting composite. The 2D MoO3-x layers with a large amount of Mo5+ oxidation states enables facile charge carrier generation due to plasmonic effect, whereas MoS2 provides active sites for catalysis. The solar H-2 generation was demonstrated in the visible and near-infrared region by combining both the plasmonic and catalytic effects in one composite. These results demonstrate the important role of RGO to provide energy-level alignment, charge carrier diffusion, and help to generate plasmonic effect in the composite.

Divison category: 
Catalysis and Inorganic Chemistry

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