Construction and first-principles analysis of BiOI and Ni doped MoS2 Z-type heterojunctions

Abstract

In this paper, a Z-type heterojunction is formed between BiOI and Ni doped MoS2 by hydrothermal and microwave-assisted methods. The composites were characterised by a range of characterisation methods. The test results show that the formation of heterojunction can reduce the forbidden bandwidth of the material and improve the absorption of visible light, and the photocatalytic performance can be improved. The degradation efficiency of 5 % BiOI/Ni0.05Mo0.95S2 against 150 mg/L rhodamine B was 95.08 % in 300 min. The analysis of first-principles calculations reveals that BiOI will hybridise with Ni0.05Mo0.95S2 at the energy level, leading to a decrease in the forbidden bandwidth of the composite. The difference in the figure of merit of the two materials favours the reduction of the photogenerated carrier complexation rate, which is conducive to the enhancement of the photocatalytic performance. This research uses impurity energy levels and heterojunctions together on catalytic materials to improve their catalytic properties which has far-reaching implications for future research on environmental issues.