Synergetic effect of cobalt phosphide cocatalyst modified molybdenum disulfide for boosting photocatalytic performance

• CoP/MoS 2 was synthesized by a simple self-assembly method. • It exhibits the outstanding photocatalytic activity for degrading 2-mercaptobenzothiazole under visible light. • The synergistic effect of CoP as co-catalyst coupled with MoS 2 can improve the photocatalytic performance. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has received extensive attention in environmental remediation due to its unique two-dimensional lamellar structure and high specific area. To further improve the photocatalytic performance of MoS 2 , supported co-catalysts have been proven to be one of the effective modification measures. The composite photocatalyst CoP/MoS 2 was prepared by a facile self-assembly method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the successful loading of CoP onto the MoS 2 surface. The UV-vis results showed that the MoS 2 modified by CoP had enhanced absorption capacity for visible light. The photoelectric performance test showed that the synergistic effect of CoP and MoS 2 promoted the charge transfer between them and reduced the charge recombination rate. The CoP/MoS 2 composite photocatalyst exhibits a high degradation rate under visible light irradiation. The degradation rate of MBT can reach 97.2% within 80 min, which is 1.6 times that of the original MoS 2 photocatalyst. This is mainly due to the efficient charge separation and synergistic effect of CoP and MoS 2 . The possible decomposition intermediates, photocatalytic pathways and mechanisms are also proposed. This work provides a valuable strategy for developing other semiconductors as co-catalysts to modify MoS 2 for efficient photocatalytic applications.