Cerium-doped MoS2 layered nanostructures for enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light illumination

Layered 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and Ce-doped MoS2 nanostructures were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction patterns reveal the hexagonal symmetry of MoS2 nanostructures. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Ce ions in MoS2 nanostructures with a significant peak shift. Morphological analysis confirms the formation of layered MoS2 nanosheets. The effect of Ce ions in MoS2 nanostructures was investigated against methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. 5 mM Ce-doped MoS2 exhibits 99.36% of degradation efficiency against MB under visible light irradiation. The effective suppression of electron-hole pairs enhances the degradation efficiency upon the introduction of Ce ions in the MoS2 matrix. A possible charge transfer mechanism has been proposed.