Enhanced photocatalytic properties of graphene modified few-layered WSe2 nanosheets

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) modified few-layered WSe2 nanosheets have been synthesized through a facile one-pot solvothermal reaction. Compared with bare WSe2 nanosheets with relatively poor photocatalytic activity, WSe2/RGO composite demonstrates significant enhancement in photocatalytic degradation of organic dye RhB under visible light irradiation. The k value of WSe2/RGO is similar to 1.9 times larger than that of bare WSe2 nanosheets, which is attributed to the excellent charge separation feature and electronic transport ability of graphene nanosheets, leading to highly reduced electron-hole pair recombination of graphene on WSe2 nanosheets thus strongly enhancing the photocatalytic performance. The WSe2/RGO composite is a promising catalyst for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants by solar energy. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.