Surface oxygen vacancy facilitated Z-scheme MoS2/Bi2O3 heterojunction for enhanced visible-light driven photocatalysis-pollutant degradation and hydrogen production.

An oxygen-vacancy rich, bismuth oxide (Bi 2 O 3) based MoS 2 /Bi 2 O 3 Z-scheme heterojunction catalyst (2-BO-MS) was prepared in an autoclave hydrothermal method using ethanol and water. The performance of MoS 2 /Bi 2 O 3 catalyst was examined for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, photoelectrochemical activity, and crystal violet (CV) dye degradation by comparing with pristine Bi 2 O 3 and MoS 2. The hydrogen evolution performances of 2-BO-MS catalyst exhibited 3075.21 μmol g−1 h−1, which is 7.18 times higher than that of MoS 2 (428.14 μmol g−1 h−1). The XPS, XRD and HRTEM analyses covered that the superior photocatalytic performance of 2-BO-MS catalyst might have stemmed out due to the existence of oxygen vacancies, enhanced strong interfacial interaction between MoS 2 and Bi 2 O 3 and specific surface area. The in-depth investigation has been performed for MoS 2 /Bi 2 O 3 Z-scheme heterojunction using several characterization techniques. Moreover, the photocatalytic mechanism for hydrogen evolution and photodegradation were proposed based on trapping experiment results. This results acquired using MoS 2 /Bi 2 O 3 Z-scheme heterojunction would be stepping stone for developing heterojunction catalyst towards attaining outstanding photocatalytic activity. Image 1 • OD/2D binary heterostructure of Bi 2 O 3 /MoS 2 was synthesized via one-pot approach. • Bi 2 O 3 /MoS 2 exhibited higher H 2 evolution rate under solar light. • Bi 2 O 3 /MoS 2 demonstrated remarkable photo/electrochemical behaviour. • Z-Scheme photocatalytic activity of Bi 2 O 3 /MoS 2 was elucidated and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]