Constructing 2D layered MoS 2 nanosheets-modified Z-scheme TiO 2 /WO 3 nanofibers ternary nanojunction with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract Advanced materials for photoelectrochemical H2 production are important to the field of renewable energy. Despite great efforts have been made, the present challenge in materials science is to explore highly active photocatalysts for splitting of water at low cost. In this work, we report a new composite material consisting of 2D layered MoS2 nanosheets grown on the presence of TiO2/WO3 nanofibers (TW) as a high-performance photocatalyst for H2 evolution. This composite material was prepared by a two-step simple process of electrospinning and hydrothermal. We found that the as-prepared TiO2/WO3@MoS2 (TWM) hybrid exhibited superior photocatalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) even without the noble metal-cocatalyst. Importantly, the TiO2/WO3@MoS2 heterostructure with 60 wt% of MoS2 exhibits the highest hydrogen production rate. This great improvement is attributed to the positive synergetic effect between the WO3 and MoS2 components in this hybrid cocatalyst, which serve as hole collector and electron collector, respectively. Moreover, the effective charge separation was directly proved by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and photocurrent analysis.