Hydrothermal synthesis of MoS2 nanosheet/palygorskite nanofiber hybrid nanostructures for enhanced catalytic activity

Abstract MoS2 nanosheet/palygorskite nanofiber (MoS2/Pal) hybrid nanostructures were synthesized via facile hydrothermal method, and the catalytic activities of samples were assessed by reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The structure characterizations indicate that the MoS2 nanosheets with abundant active sites are assembled on the palygorskite (Pal) nanofiber, and the Pal could prevent MoS2 nanosheets aggregation. With MoS2/Pal as catalyst, the decoloration rate of 4-NP reaches up to 99.72% after 10 min, and the apparent reaction rate constant is 0.750 min−1 at catalyst concentration of 1.0 g/L. The MoS2/Pal exhibits higher catalytic activity than hydrothermally synthesized MoS2 for the reduction reaction of 4-NP, which could be attributed to the synergistic effect of more reactive sites in hybrid nanostructures and the hydrophilicity of Pal. The as-prepared MoS2/Pal hybrid nanostructures are promising candidates for catalytic applications in the water-treatment and biomedical fields. The synthesis process and catalysis mechanism of MoS2/Pal were explored, which might provide insights for designing high activity and cost-effective catalysts.