Novel MoS₂-In₂O₃-WS₂ (2D/3D/2D) ternary heterostructure nanocomposite material: Efficient photocatalytic degradation of antimicrobial agents under visible-light

Fabrication of ternary composited photocatalytic nanomaterials with strong interaction is vital to deriving the fast charge separation for efficient photodegradation of organic contaminants in wastewater under visible light. In this work, novel ternary 2D/3D/2D MoS₂-In₂O₃-WS₂ multi-nanostructures were synthesized using facile hydrothermal processes. XRD, FTIR, and XPS results confirmed the phase, functional groups, and element composition of pure MoS₂, MoS₂-In₂O_3, and MoS₂-In₂O₃-WS₂ hybrids. UV-DRS spectra of the MoS₂-In₂O₃-WS₂ ternary hybrid indicate maximum absorption in the visible light range with a band-gap energy value of 2.4 eV. The surface of the 2D WS₂ nanosheet structure tightly blends and densely disperses 2D MoS₂ nanosheets and 3D In₂O₃ nanocubes. This confirmed the formation of the MoS₂-In₂O₃-WS₂ ternary hybrid in the form of 2D/3D/2D multi-nanostructures, which is also indicated from SEM and HR-TEM images. The synthesized MoS₂-In₂O₃-WS₂ ternary hybrid showed maximum photocatalytic activity under visible-light for antimicrobial agents such as triclosan (TCS) and trichlorocarban (TCC). The photocatalytic activity of TCS was revealed to be 95% at 90 min, while that of TCC was 93% at 100 min. The reusability and stability tests of the prepared MoS₂-In₂O₃-WS₂ ternary hybrid after four consecutive photocatalytic cycles were analyzed by FTIR and SEM, which indicated that the prepared ternary hybrid was very stable. Overall results suggested that the developed MoS₂-In₂O₃-WS₂ (2D/3D/2D) multi-nanostructures are environmentally friendly and low-cost nanocomposites as a potential photocatalyst for the removal of antimicrobial agents from wastewater.