Enhanced adsorption performance of MoS2 nanosheet-coated MIL-101 hybrids for the removal of aqueous rhodamine B.

A MoS2 nanosheet-coated chromium terephthalate MIL-101 octahedron hybrid (denoted as MoS2/MIL-101) was prepared via a simple hydrothermal reaction. The obtained MoS2/MIL-101 hybrid exhibited a significantly enhanced adsorption ability toward rhodamine B (RhB) as compared with pure MoS2, MIL-101, and the physical mixture of the two. The results demonstrate that the MoS2/MIL-101 hybrid had a high uptake capacity (Qm ≈ 344.8mgg-1) and fast adsorption rate for the removal of aqueous RhB. The excellent adsorption performance is likely related to the synergism of hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking interactions, and direct coordination between the MIL-101 substrate and RhB, as well as electrostatic interactions between MoS2 nanosheets and RhB. In particular, the uniform distribution of MoS2 nanosheets along with the negative charges on MIL-101 could have a strong interaction with the positively charged RhB, thus leading to an improvement in adsorption performance as observed for the MoS2/MIL-101 hybrid. Furthermore, MoS2/MIL-101 displayed good regenerability and reusability, making it attractive for the adsorption removal of aqueous RhB.