Solvothermal synthesis and characterization of visible-light-active MoO3/MoS2 heterostructure

MoO3/MoS2 microspheres were successfully synthesized via one-step solvothermal method. The crystal structure, morphology, and composition of MoO3/MoS2 microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). And MoO3/MoS2 microspheres exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance in the degradation of methyl orange under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation rate of MoO3/MoS2 microsphere is 18.5 and 2.5 times of pure MoO3 and MoS2, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of MoO3/MoS2 should be attributed to the formation of heterojunctions between MoO3 and MoS2 nanosheets, resulting in the effective separation and utilization of the photo-generated charge carries.