Synthesis and characterization of surfactant assisted MoS₂ for degradation of industrial pollutants

The surfactant assisted MoS₂ nanomaterials were synthesized through hydrothermal method (which is simple and cost effective) using four different surfactants (UREA, PVP, CTAB and oxalic acid). Optical properties of prepared samples were characterized through ultra violet visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy while recombination time of photo generated charge carriers was measured using photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Functional groups present in fabricated nanostructures were analyzed using Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. The crystallinity and surface morphology of synthesized materials was examined with the help of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) respectively. Photocatalytic efficiency of surfactant based MoS₂ nanomaterials was observed by degrading industrial waste under visible light irradiation for 180 min. The stabilities and scavenger effects of prepared MoS₂ nanostructures were also studied in 05 cycles of repeated experiments and using different scavenger materials respectively. The experimental results reveal that urea based MoS₂ (M-UREA) nanorods are the optimal material among all other prepared samples having 59% photocatalytic efficiency of industrial waste with lowest band gap, highest absorption, reduced recombination time and optimal morphology of such nanorods.