1D/2D TiO₂/MoS₂ Hybrid Nanostructures for Enhanced Photocatalytic CO₂ Reduction

Abstract Photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ into solar fuels is recognized an attractive approach to solve the environmental and energy crisis. MoS₂, a type of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides, has attracted significant attention in photoelectronics, sensors and photo/electrocatalytic water splitting owing to its remarkable properties. Nevertheless, to date, MoS₂ is barely used as (co)catalyst for CO₂ photoreduction. Herein, novel 1D/2D TiO₂/MoS₂ nanostructured hybrid with TiO₂ fibers covered by MoS₂ nanosheets by hydrothermal transformation method is fabricated. The MoS₂ sheet arrays show a lateral size of ≈80 nm and a thickness of down to 2 nm, vertically and uniformly standing upon the TiO₂ fibers. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results and density functional theory (DFT) calculation imply the intimate chemical interaction between MoS₂ and TiO₂ upon hybridization, which can facilitate electron–hole separation upon photoexcitation. In addition, the hierarchical TiO₂/MoS₂ nanostructure shows enhanced optical absorption and CO₂ adsorption, therefore, a superior photocatalytic activity for reducing CO₂ into methane and methanol is achieved over the hybrid as compared to pristine TiO₂. Isotope (¹³C) tracer test confirms that the products are produced from the photocatalytic reduction of the CO₂ source instead of any organic contaminants. This work offers an alternative approach to rationally design and synthesize TiO₂‐based photocatalysts toward high‐efficiency photoreduction of CO₂.