The 2H phases of MoS2 (2H-MoS2) monolayers present a wealth of new opportunities in photocatalysis owing to their photoinduced catalyzing ability and excellent charge carrier mobility. However, the complete release of their catalytic activities is restricted by their inert basal planes. Although the inert base planes of 2H-MoS2 are known to be activated by atomic doping, the operational principle of the exotic atoms remains vague. In this study, the unutilized inert base sites of MoS2 were activated via an oxygen-aided P-substituted method (denoted as POMS). Molecular structural tests and analyses of POMS indicated that the inert MoS2 substrate is activated when the inerratic crystal phases transform to amorphous phases in the P-doping process. The fully activated inert base planes provide sufficient reaction sites for photo-oxidized water contaminants. The designed POMS presented superior activity in organic degradation and completely removed sulfamethoxazole within 20 min. Uncovering these operational principles provides a theoretical basis for designing effective catalysts.
Keywords: 2H-MoS2; active sites; phosphorus doping; photocatalytic degradation organics.