LAUSR

Molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) has become popular in the photo-degradation of organic pollutants because of its strong visible light response and environment-friendly nature. Recycling the catalyst and the high recombination of photo-generated carriers remain problematic, hindering its practical application. In this work, MoS2 nanosheets were vertically grown on carbon cloth (CC) (MoS2/CC) via the one-step hydrothermal route. The built-in electric field at the MoS2/CC heterogeneous interface could effectively separate the photon-generated electrons and holes, while prolonging the lifetime of the photon-generated carriers. XRD and XPS show that the pristine MoS2 naonosheets were successfully grown on the CC. SEM and TEM demonstrated that the as-prepared MoS2/CC composite exposed as many of the lateral edges of MoS2 as possible. The lateral edges were the main active sites. The UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum showed that the absorption intensity of as-prepared MoS2/CC composite was higher than the pristine MoS2 in the visible light region. The photo-degradation experiments confirmed that the photo-catalytic activity of the as-prepared MoS2/CC composition is higher than pristine MoS2. The circulation photo-degradation experiments further confirmed that the as-prepared MoS2/CC composite could be easily and rapidly recycled from solution after the practical application. The as-prepared MoS2/CC composite maintained a high photo-degradation activity after being used several times, which signified it fit for reusing and avoided second pollution.