A facile strategy for the synthesis of ferroferric oxide/titanium dioxide/molybdenum disulfide heterostructures as a magnetically separable photocatalyst under visible-light

Semiconductor photocatalysts is a promising approach to combat both environmental pollution and global energy shortage despite the challenges of recycling and stability. In this paper, magnetic Fe3O4 particle is introduced in the system and Fe3O4/TiO2/MoS2 heterostructures can be formed in a facile strategy. The morphology and structure of Fe3O4/TiO2/MoS2 can be controlled by adjusting the hydrolysis rate of the titanium source. MoS2 is designed to fill in the mesoporous of TiO2 core, forming heterojunction on the surface and near-surface of TiO2 under solvothermal conditions. With respect to the decomposition of a rhodamine B (RhB) solution under visible light, the Fe3O4/TiO2/MoS2 heterostructures display highly photocatalytic activities in aqueous solutions, and they can be easily recovered to realize cyclic utilization by applying an external magnetic field. Thus, the effective magnetic recycle of the catalyst is achieved, and high visible light catalytic activity is ensured simultaneously. Since the current method is simple and flexible to create recyclable catalysts with high stability in this way, it could promote the practicability of semiconductor photocatalysts in water treatment, degradation of dye pollutants, and environmental cleaning.