Highly efficient tandem Z-scheme heterojunctions for visible light-based photocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

Oxygen is important in maintaining a clean and reliable water environment.Designing heterojunction photocatalysts that can evolve oxygen from water splitting through an artificial Z-scheme pathway is a promising strategy for solving environmental problems.In this study,flower-like MoS2 nanostructures were fabricated via a simple hydrothermal process,and the electrostatic-based assembly ion-exchange method was used to construct a tandem Ag3PO4/MoS2/g-C3N4(AMC)heterojunction.The as-synthesized photocatalyst exhibited significant improvements in harvesting visible light and transporting charge carriers.Moreover,the catalyst that was similar to the Z-scheme with intimate interface contact exhibited a strong oxygen evolution performance.The oxygen evolution activity of the optimal AMC-10 catalyst was approximately 11 times that of the pristine Ag3PO4.The results indicated that addition of a small amount of the flower-like MoS2 could significantly enhance the efficiency of oxygen evolution by the heterojunction.The findings in this study provide an alternative pathway for rationally designing efficient oxygen-evolving photocatalysts in order to improve the quality of water and rehabilitate the water environment.©2020 Hohai University.Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).