Toxicity evaluation of bulk and nanosheet MoS catalysts using battery bioassays.

Herein, the main aim is to study the influence of the materials' structural properties on their ecotoxicological properties. The acute toxicity of the bulk (molybdenum disulfide) MoS and 2D nanosheet MoS was investigated using organisms of four different taxonomic groups. Ultrasound-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation method was used for preparing 2D nanosheets from bulk MoS. Bulk and nanosheet MoS were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The acute toxicity of the bulk and nanosheet MoS catalysts was evaluated with four different bioassays using the test organisms Vibrio fischeri (a marine photobacterium), Pseudokirchnerialla subcapitata (a freshwater microalga), Daphnia magna (a freshwater crustacean) and the freshwater duckweed Spirodela polyrhiza. The toxic effect of the materials depended on their structural/size features and the type/sensitivity of the test organism. Generally speaking, bulk MoS was more toxic than its nanosheet form. The freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna appeared to be the most suitable, easy-to-handle, and at the same time sensitive test organism for bulk and nanosheet MoS among the tested organisms.