Microwave-assisted synthesis of MoS2/graphene nanocomposites for efficient hydrodesulfurization

This work presents a facile and rapid approach for the preparation of graphene sheet (GS) decorated by nanometer scaled molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with effective hydrodesulfurization activity for carbonyl sulfide conversion at low temperature (<300 °C). Using functionalized GS as microwave susceptor and ammonium tetrathiomolybdate as the precursor of MoS2, nanocomposites consisting of MoS2 nanoparticles and GS was prepared through a solvent-free microwave-assisted route. The synthesized MoS2 and GS hybrid (M-MoS2/GS) was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, Raman spectrometry, scanning and transmission electron microscopies as well as low temperature nitrogen adsorption. Compared to MoS2/GS and MoS2/activated carbon catalysts made by conventional thermal decomposition, the M-MoS2/GS composite shows excellent performance for the hydrodesulfurization of carbonyl sulfide. The high catalytic efficiency over M-MoS2/GS composite demonstrates that microwave irradiation is helpful for the preparation of graphene-based catalysts with enhanced catalytic activity. The low-cost synthesis procedure paves the way for the exploitation of the presented hybrid materials as catalysts for the hydrodesulfurization of coal-based gas.