Highly efficient Bi2O3/MoS2 p-n heterojunction photocatalyst for H2 evolution from water splitting

Abstract

The design of p-n heterojunction photocatalysts to overcome the drawbacks of low photocatalytic activity that results from the recombination of charge carriers and narrow photo-response range is promising technique for future energy. Here, we demonstrate the facile hydrothermal synthesis for the preparation of Bi2O3/MoS2 p-n heterojunction photocatalysts with tunable loading amount of Bi2O3 (0–15 wt%). The structure, surface morphology, composition and optical properties of heterostructures were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, photoluminescence (PL), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Compare to pure Bi2O3 and MoS2, the Bi2O3/MoS2 heterostructures displayed significantly superior performance for photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) production using visible photo-irradiation. The maximum performance for hydrogen evolution was achieved over Bi2O3/MoS2 photocatalyst (10 μmol h−1g−1) with Bi2O3 content of 11 wt%, which was approximately ten times higher than pure Bi2O3 (1.1 μmol h−1g−1) and MoS2 (1.2 μmol h−1g−1) photocatalyst. The superior performance was attributed to the robust light harvesting ability, enhanced charge carrier separation via gradual charge transferred pathway. Moreover, the increased efficiency of Bi2O3/MoS2 heterostructure photocatalyst is discussed through proposed mechanism based on observed performance, band gap and band position calculations, PL and EIS data.