Open Collections

UBC Faculty Research and Publications

Sepiolite-Supported WS2 Nanosheets for Synergistically Promoting Photocatalytic Rhodamine B Degradation Bai, Jiaxuan; Cui, Kaibin; Xie, Xinlei; Fang, Baizeng; Wang, Fei

Abstract

Pristine tungsten disulfide (WS₂) nanosheets are extremely prone to agglomeration, leading to blocked active sites and the decrease of catalytic activity. In this work, highly dispersed WS₂ nanosheets were fabricated via a one-step in situ solvothermal method, using sepiolite nanofibers as a functional carrier. The ammonium tetrathiotungstate was adopted as W and S precursors, and N,N-dimethylformamide could provide a neutral reaction environment. The electron microscope analysis revealed that the WS₂ nanosheets were stacked compactly in the shape of irregular plates, while they were uniformly grown on the surface of sepiolite nanofibers . Meanwhile, the BET measurement confirmed that the as-prepared composite has a larger specific surface area and is more mesoporous than the pure WS₂. Due to the improved dispersion of WS₂ and the synergistic effect between WS₂ and the mesoporous sepiolite mineral which significantly facilitated the mass transport, the WS₂/sepiolite composite exhibited ca. 2.6 times the photocatalytic efficiency of the pure WS₂ for rhodamine B degradation. This work provides a potential method for low-cost batch preparation of high-quality 2D materials via assembling on natural materials. This approach aligns with recent research trends in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of WS₂ nanosheets. For instance, another study reported that WS₂/sepiolite composites exhibited about 7 times the specific surface area and 7.4 times the photocatalytic efficiency toward rhodamine B degradation compared to pure WS₂. The use of sepiolite as a support for growing highly-dispersed ultrathin WS₂ architecture has been shown to be superior to other minerals, enabling better dispersion of WS₂ nanosheets and synergetic effects.

Item Metadata

Title
Sepiolite-Supported WS2 Nanosheets for Synergistically Promoting Photocatalytic Rhodamine B Degradation
Creator
Bai, Jiaxuan; Cui, Kaibin; Xie, Xinlei; Fang, Baizeng; Wang, Fei
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date Issued
2022-11-09
Description
Pristine tungsten disulfide (WS₂) nanosheets are extremely prone to agglomeration, leading to blocked active sites and the decrease of catalytic activity. In this work, highly dispersed WS₂ nanosheets were fabricated via a one-step in situ solvothermal method, using sepiolite nanofibers as a functional carrier. The ammonium tetrathiotungstate was adopted as W and S precursors, and N,N-dimethylformamide could provide a neutral reaction environment. The electron microscope analysis revealed that the WS₂ nanosheets were stacked compactly in the shape of irregular plates, while they were uniformly grown on the surface of sepiolite nanofibers . Meanwhile, the BET measurement confirmed that the as-prepared composite has a larger specific surface area and is more mesoporous than the pure WS₂. Due to the improved dispersion of WS₂ and the synergistic effect between WS₂ and the mesoporous sepiolite mineral which significantly facilitated the mass transport, the WS₂/sepiolite composite exhibited ca. 2.6 times the photocatalytic efficiency of the pure WS₂ for rhodamine B degradation. This work provides a potential method for low-cost batch preparation of high-quality 2D materials via assembling on natural materials. This approach aligns with recent research trends in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of WS₂ nanosheets. For instance, another study reported that WS₂/sepiolite composites exhibited about 7 times the specific surface area and 7.4 times the photocatalytic efficiency toward rhodamine B degradation compared to pure WS₂. The use of sepiolite as a support for growing highly-dispersed ultrathin WS₂ architecture has been shown to be superior to other minerals, enabling better dispersion of WS₂ nanosheets and synergetic effects.
Subject
photocatalysis; rhodamine B degradation; sepiolite nanofibers; catalyst support; WS2 nanosheets
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2025-01-20
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
CC BY 4.0
DOI
10.14288/1.0447782
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90154
Affiliation
Applied Science, Faculty of; Non UBC; Chemical and Biological Engineering, Department of
Citation
Catalysts 12 (11): 1400 (2022)
Publisher DOI
10.3390/catal12111400
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

Item Media

Item Citations and Data

Rights

CC BY 4.0