Synthesis of chain-like MoS2 nanoparticles in W/O reverse microemulsion and application in photocatalysis

Chain-like MoS2assemblies consisting of hexagonal MoS2nanoparticles(20-60 nm) have been successfully synthesized in a Triton X-100/cyclohexane/hexanol/water W/O reverse microemulsion in the presence of(NH 4)2MoS 4 as the molybdenum source and NH2OH·HCl as the reducing agent.The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction(XRD),transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance absorption spectra.The influence of synthetic parameters such as acidity,water/oil ratio(0),aging time and annealing temperature on the formation of MoS2assemblies was investigated.TEM analysis showed that these synthetic factors played important roles in controlling the size of MoS2nanoparticles and the length of the chain-like MoS2assemblies.XRD analysis indicated that the well-crystallized MoS2nanoparticles could be obtained by annealing the precursors at 700 C for2h under a flow of N2atmosphere.In addition,the as-prepared chain-like MoS2nanoparticles exhibited excellent photocatalytic H2activity in Ru(bpy) 3 2+-MoS2-H2A three-component molecular systems under visible light irradiation.