Fabrication of 3D MoS2-TiO2@PAN electro-spun membrane for efficient and recyclable photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes

Highlights: • A highly efficient and recyclable 3D MoS₂-TiO₂@PAN electrospun membrane was fabricated for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. • The band gaps between MoS₂ nanosheets and TiO₂ nanotubes endowed 3D membrane excellent photocatalytic degradation performance. • The best degradation efficiency of the as-prepared MoS₂-TiO₂@PAN membrane was 97.73%. • The photocatalytic degradation mechanism of MoS₂-TiO₂@PAN membrane was presented. In this work, molybdenum disulfide-titanium dioxide (MoS₂-TiO₂) nanohybrids were decorated on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) electrospun membrane to fabricate a highly efficient and recyclable 3D composite for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. It was found that the high surface area of MoS₂ nanosheets facilitated the formation of TiO₂ nanotubes, which further promoted the exfoliation of MoS₂ nanosheets. In addition, the matched band gaps between MoS₂ nanosheets and TiO₂ nanotubes brought MoS₂-TiO₂@PAN membrane excellent photocatalytic degradation performance of five organic dyes. The best degradation efficiency of the as-prepared MoS₂-TiO₂@PAN membrane was 97.73%. Based on these results, we presented the photocatalytic degradation mechanism of MoS₂-TiO₂@PAN membrane. Our strategy for fabricating efficient and recyclable 3D MoS₂-TiO₂@PAN membrane is facile, cost-efficient and eco-friendly, which will be a promising method for the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes.