Fabrication of direct Z-scheme MoO₃/N–MoS₂ photocatalyst for synergistically enhanced H₂ production

A novel visible-light active MoO₃/N–MoS₂ heterostructure photocatalyst was fabricated via hydrothermal process. The structure, morphology and optical characteristics were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–visible and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. The results indicated that loading pf MoO₃ and nitrogen doping played main influence role in advancing the morphology and optical characteristics. Upon visible photo-illumination, the MoO₃/N–MoS₂ sample displayed superior photocatalytic H₂-production activity (118 μ mol h⁻¹g⁻¹), which was about four-time higher than that of pure MoS₂ (30 μ mol h⁻¹g⁻¹). The enhancement in photocatalytic performance of MoO₃/N–MoS₂ photocatalyst can be ascribed to the development of direct Z-scheme heterostructure, which promoted the photo-excited electrons/holes transfer and separation. The recycling experiment verified that the MoO₃/N–MoS₂ photocatalyst had superior cyclic activity and stability, implying promising applications in energy field.