Fabrication of multilayered MoS2 coated raspberry-like TiO2 on rGO with enhanced photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI)

A novel MoS2/TiO2/reduced graphene oxide (MoS2/TiO2/rGO) hybrid photocatalyst was prepared via a two-step hydrothermal process. Where this raspberry-like TiO2 microsphere (300-400 nm) was covered by network-like MoS2 multilayer on the rGO nanosheets. The resulting MoS2/TiO2/rGO hybrid is uniform, chemically stable which can remove 100% Cr(VI) from a 10 mg/L solution within the pH range of 2-5 under simulated sunlight irradiation. Furthermore, it demonstrates excellent reproducibility and stability with a removal rate of 66.7% after seven recycling of Cr(VI) photoreduction which shows a great potential for practical application. The highly efficient photocatalytic activities of this novel hybrid is believed to be ascribed to the enhanced light absorption and photogenerated charge carriers transfer rate of TiO2 due to the hybridization of network-like multilayer MoS2 and rGO nanosheets.