title: Water-soluble MoS3 nanoparticles for photocatalytic H2 evolution.
abstract: Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-modified MoS3 nanoparticles with unusual water solubility up to 1.0 mg mL(-1) were synthesized through a facile hydrothermal method in the presence of thioacetic acid. The amorphous nanoparticles wrapped by PVP have sizes of around 2.5 nm, which represent the smallest MoS3 clusters reported. The photocatalytic performance of the MoS3 nanoparticles was evaluated under visible light for H2 evolution using xanthene dyes as photosensitizers. The quantum efficiency of the optimized system for H2 evolution under green light irradiation (520 nm) is up to 36.2 %, which is comparable with those of other excellent photocatalytic systems involving earth-abundant catalysts. The excellent photocatalytic activity can be attributed to its good dispersion in water, amorphous nature and limited layers with abundant surface active sites, and possibly higher conduction band potential for proton reduction and larger indirect band gap for a longer lifetime of the excited electrons.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, 637459 (Singapore);; School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710119 (China).
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Tianhua
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jindui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Yunxiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D004220:Disulfides / Q000737:chemistry*; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D008982:Molybdenum / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D011205:Povidone / Q000737:chemistry; D012995:Solubility; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004220:Disulfides; D014867:Water; D006859:Hydrogen; D008982:Molybdenum; D011205:Povidone; C082964:molybdenum disulfide
keywords: hydrogen evolution; molybdenum sulfide; photocatalyst; photosensitizer; water splitting