Improved Mass-Transfer Enhances Photo-Driven Dye Degradation and H₂ Evolution over a Few-Layer WS₂/ZnO Heterostructure

Abstract

In this study, we observed the enhanced photocatalytic activity of a few-layer WS2/ZnO (WZ) heterostructure toward dye degradation and H2 production. The few-layer WS2 acted as a co-catalyst that separated photogenerated electron/hole pairs and provided active sites for reactions, leading to the rate of photocatalytic H2 production of WZ being 35% greater than that over the bare ZnO nanoparticles. Moreover, vortex-stirring accelerated the mass-transfer of the reactants, leading to the efficiency of dye photodegradation being 3 times higher than that obtained without high-speed stirring. We observed a similar effect for H2 production, with greater photocatalytic performance arising from the increased mass-transfer of H2 from the catalyst surface to the atmosphere.

Enhanced Piezocatalytic Activity in Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3 for Water Splitting by Oxygen Vacancy Engineering

“…Catalysts such as metal oxides, chalcogenides, and carbides, , as well as electrical and solar energy, have all been used numerous times to split water into H 2 gas . There have been numerous applications for noble metals , in the form of co-catalysts, , as well as heterostructured catalysts , and nanocatalysts. , For clean energy and environmental applications, we still need to develop state-of-the-art catalysts. , …”

Photodegradation of Methylene blue and Rhodamine B using potato starch mediated zinc oxide nanoparticles and its calcium nanocomposites: Greener approach

“…This confirms the incorporation of calcium ion into ZnO lattice. It is noteworthy that calcium coating did not affect the crystallinity of ZnO with a wurtzite structure [33] .…”

Development of the Sb4O5Cl2@NbSe2 Composite: The Impact of 2H-NbSe2 Nanoparticles on Sb4O5Cl2 and Their Application for the Removal of Cr(VI)/Fe(III) and Methyl Orange from Wastewater

“…The usage of two-dimensional (2D) layered transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) nanomaterials has drawn a lot of attention due to their advantageous features, such as large surface area, more number of active sites, cost-effective preparation, and superior biocompatibility. − It has been observed that the crystal edges of TMDCs have a large number of active sites that are responsible for improving the efficiency of commercially used semiconductors when TMDCs form composites with them. − TMDCs are thus expected to be efficient cocatalysts to increase the light absorption ability or adsorption property of commercial semiconductors. However, there have not been many studies in which TMDCs have been incorporated into semiconductor materials, and most of these studies are limited to the use of molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) coupled with metals, dopants, , and semiconductors. , Among all these TMDC compounds, niobium diselenide (NbSe 2 ) has shown a diverse array of applications in the domain of catalysis as well as the fabrication of electrical and optical devices. − Like 2H-MoS 2 , 2H-NbSe 2 has the same hexagonal layer symmetry and trigonal prismatic crystal structure with strong covalent bonding of Se–Nb–Se atoms, where the niobium atoms reside in the center of trigonal selenium prisms to form 2H-NbSe 2 .…”