Recent Progress in WS2-Based Nanomaterials Employed for Photocatalytic Water Treatment

Abstract

Water pollution is one of the most serious environmental issues globally due to its harmful consequences on the ecosystem and public health. Various technologies have been developed for water treatment such as photocatalysis, which has recently drawn scientists’ attention. Photocatalytic techniques using semiconductors have shown an efficient removal of various water contaminants during water treatment as well as cost effectivity and low energy consumption. Tungsten disulfide (WS2) is among the promising Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDs) photocatalysts, as it has an exceptional nanostructure and special properties including high surface area and high carrier mobility. It is usually synthesized via hydrothermal technique, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) to obtain a wide variety of nanostructures such as nanosheets and nanorods. Most common examples of water pollutants that can be removed efficiently by WS2-based nanomaterials through semiconductor photocatalytic techniques are organic contaminants, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and infectious microorganisms. This review summarizes the most recent work on employing WS2-based nanomaterials for different photocatalytic water treatment processes.