Interface enriched highly interlaced layered MoS/NiS nanocomposites for the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B dye.

In the past few decades, air and water pollution by organic dyes has become a serious concern due to their high toxicity. Removal of these organic dyes from polluted water bodies is a serious environmental concern and the development of new advanced photocatalytic materials for decomposing organic dyes can be a good solution. In this work, layered molybdenum disulfide/nickel disulfide (MoS/NiS) nanocomposites with various NiS content was synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method using citric acid as a reducing agent. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows the hexagonal and cubical crystal structure of MoS and NiS, respectively. Morphological analysis confirms the formation of MoS/NiS nanosheets. The elemental composition of the samples was carried out by XPS, which shows a significant interaction between NiS and MoS. The photocatalytic performance of MoS/NiS nanocomposites was studied by the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB). Ni-4 sample shows higher photocatalytic activity with a maximum degradation of 90.61% under visible light irradiation for 32 min.