Flower ball MoS2 embedded in sheet-like Sm2WO6 to construct p–n heterojunction for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Photocatalytic hydrogen production is one of the effective ways of global energy conservation and emission reduction. Herein, we report the successful embedding of flower ball MoS 2 into Sm 2 WO 6 using the hydrothermal method, and p-n heterojunction is obtained successfully. Due to the narrow band gap of MoS 2 , the Sm 2 WO 6 / MoS 2 composite photocatalyst effectively improves the photogenerated carrier separation. The better redox capacity of Sm 2 WO 6 itself also promotes the reduction capacity of Sm 2 WO 6 /MoS 2 . The petals on MoS 2 are closely bound to Sm 2 WO 6 , which enhances the electron transport efficiency and is one of the main factors for improving photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (HER). To explore the performance of Sm 2 WO 6 / MoS 2 by various means of representation. And the HER performance of Sm 2 WO 6 / MoS 2 is evaluated using eosin Y (EY) as sensitizer and TEOA as sacrifice agent. Compared with pure Sm 2 WO 6 , Sm 2 WO 6 / MoS 2 has improved HER performance, and its optimal activity is 142.7 µmol, which is nearly 140 times that of pure Sm 2 WO 6 . This study demonstrates a novel morphology design strategy for composite photocatalysts to promote efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production.