Construction of ternary heterojunction AgI/C--MoS₂ nanosheets with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic property and self-cleaning performance

Abstract

Carbon–molybdenum disulfide (C–MoS₂) ultrathin nanosheets were prepared by a hydrothermal process, and then AgI/C–MoS₂ were synthesized via an in-situ deposition method. This ternary heterojunction composite exhibited better photocatalytic activity compared with those of one-component (pristine MoS₂) and bi-component (AgI/MoS₂ and C–MoS₂) materials for the degradation of organic dyes under the visible-light irradiation. In particular, by comparing with AgI/MoS₂, the significant role of conductive amorphous carbon in AgI/C–MoS₂ in enhancing the charge transfer during the photocatalytic degradation of dyes was first confirmed by photocurrent response and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). A possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on the capture experiment results. Furthermore, a straightforward and interesting way had been applied to test the recycled/newly-prepared AgI/C–MoS₂ composite for revealing its distinctive self-cleaning performance and recyclability characteristic besides its good photocatalytic activity. This work could provide a reference for the design of other new ternary heterojunction composite materials with special structures and properties.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

AgI/C--MoS₂ / ternary heterojunction / in-situ deposition / hydrothermal process / photocatalytic activity / self-cleaning performance

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Disclosure of potential conflicts of interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2187020207) and the Laboratory Open Foundation of Qufu Normal University (No. sk201722).

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