Fabrication of Z-scheme magnetic MoS2/CoFe2O4 nanocomposites with highly efficient photocatalytic activity

Abstract MoS 2 thin nanosheets decorated with CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method. The nanocomposites are characterized by XRD, TEM, HRTEM, BET, XPS, UV–Vis DRS, PL and magnetic property analysis. The Z-scheme mechanism at the interface of MoS 2 and CoFe 2 O 4 is formed. When the mass ratio of MoS 2 and CoFe 2 O 4 is 1:3, the MoS 2 /CoFe 2 O 4 nanocomposites present excellent photocatalytic performance. The degradation rate of rhodamine B (RhB) and congo red (CR) is 93.80% and 94.43% in 90 and 50 min, respectively, under visible light irradiation. The highly photocatalytic activity could be mainly ascribed to the formed Z-scheme mechanism which facilitates the separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs. Besides, the MoS 2 thin nanosheets not only provide the most active sites for photocatalytic reactions, but also act as the backing material for CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles to effectively disperse and avoid the magnetic aggregation. Moreover, the MoS 2 /CoFe 2 O 4 nanocomposites present a good recyclability and the degradation rate of RhB and CR is still beyond 82% after seven runs. In addition, the nanocomposites can be easily separated by an external magnet.