Stable metallic 1T phase engineering of molybdenum disulfide for enhanced solar vapor generation

Abstract Solar vapor generation provides an ideal pathway for water remediation by using abundant natural resource--solar irradiation. Great progresses have been made in increasing solar steam efficiency by macrostructure design and microscopic morphology regulation. Here, we report a stable 1T phase engineering of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) for enhanced solar vapor generation. A flower-like 1T/2H MoS2 (1T/2H FMoS2) was developed by a simple one-step hydrothermal method. The 1T/2H FMoS2 showed enhanced broadband sunlight absorption covering solar spectrum from 300 to 2500 nm. A high evaporation rate of 1.52 kg m−2 h−1 and 20% increase of the photo-to-heat conversion efficiency compared to that of only 2H MoS2 were achieved for 1T/2H FMoS2 by introducing 1T phase and a hierarchical flower-like structure. More importantly, the 1T/2H FMoS2 possessed benign phase stability with a high phase conversion temperature 253 °C. As a photothermal material, it provides an ideal solar-receiver for high efficient solar clean water generation, to alleviate drinking water crisis and energy risk.