Enhancement mechanism of photocatalytic activity for MoS2/Ti3C2 Schottky junction: Experiment and DFT calculation

It is very significant to boost separation efficiency of photoinduced charge carriers and to extend absorption light range from ultraviolet light into visible light region for photocatalysts . Here, Ti 3 C 2 incorporation boosted the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers of MoS 2 , extended absorption light region, heightened the absorption intensity of visible light, and enhanced photocatalytic stability. The rhodamine B (RhB) solution could be completely degraded using MoS 2 /Ti 3 C 2 under visible light after only 30 min. The comparing evaluation of photocatalytic activity signified that the reaction kinetics of RhB photodegradation over MoS 2 /Ti 3 C 2 increased 1.4 and 3 times under UV light and visible light irradiation , respectively. Experimental tests and density functional theory (DFT) calculation confirmed the formation of MoS 2 /Ti 3 C 2 Schottky junction, in which Ti 3 C 2 served as electron sink. The photogenerated electrons in MoS 2 easily transferred to Ti 3 C 2 phase due to driving force of built in electric field, which realized efficient separation of photocarriers and prolonged the life span of photoproduced holes. We sincerely hoped this catalyst could be widely applied in wastewater treatment field.