Anchoring of ZnO nanoparticles on exfoliated MoS₂ nanosheets for enhanced photocatalytic decolorization of methyl red dye

In this work, a facile method has been employed for the decoration of ultrafine ZnO nanoparticles over the exfoliated MoS₂ nanosheets (ZnO-MoS₂ composite) for the decolorization of methyl red dye under solar light irradiation. Further, the exfoliation of MoS₂ nanosheets from bulk MoS₂ powder and synthesis of pure ZnO nanoparticles was also demonstrated. Then, the prepared different photocatalyst materials have been characterized using various analytical techniques. The formation of ZnO and exfoliation of MoS₂ in the composite has been evidently confirmed by XRD, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopic analysis. HR-TEM analysis clearly revealed the formation of ultrafine ZnO nanoparticles that are anchored on the exfoliated MoS₂ nanosheets. In addition, the size of ZnO nanoparticles in the composite was significantly reduced compared to bare ZnO nanoparticles since the presence of MoS₂ nanosheets which hinders the growth of ZnO nanoparticles. Due to the synergistic interaction between ZnO nanoparticles and exfoliated MoS₂ nanosheets, the prepared composite exhibits superior photocatalytic activity towards the decolorization of methyl red dye up to 89% after 60 min irradiation time compared to pure ZnO nanoparticles (69%) and exfoliated MoS₂ nanosheets (55%).