Activation of Fenton reaction by controllable oxygen incorporation in MoS2-Fe under visible light irradiation

MoS2 could be used as co-catalysts to accelerate the conversion of Fe2+/Fe3+ in Fenton reaction. However, the basal plane of pristine MoS2 was catalytically inert, which limited the promotion to Fenton process. Thus, improving the co-catalytic activity of MoS2 via microstructural regulation is crucial to further enhance the Fenton performance. In this work, we incorporated oxygen into MoS2 structure and fabricated oxygen-incorporated MoS2-Fe as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for the first time. After controllable oxygen incorporation engineering, MoS2 showed optimized band structure, better optical response ability, superior electrons transformation and more catalytic sites for Fe3+ reduction through the synergetic effect of photocatalysis and redox, leading to an extraordinary performance for methylene blue (MB) degradation in H2O2 + visible light system. According to the results of quenching experiments and EPR tests, ·O2– and HO· were confirmed as the direct species to decompose MB molecule during reaction. Other experimental conditions, such as pH effect, dosage influence and effectiveness of various organics, were also explored. This novel strategy of oxygen incorporation in MoS2-Fe was an efficient way to enhance Fenton activity and was meaningful for environmental remediation in the future.