A New Multifunctional Ternary Composite Based on Mos2/Cu2s/Moo3 Heterojunction for Energy and Environmental Applications

Chemical energy conversion strategies through electrocatalysis and photocatalytic degradation of dyes are promising methods to easing our energy and environmental problems. Herein, snowflake shaped MoS2/Cu2S/MoO3 is employed for three functions of electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution, SERS detection of low concentration contaminants and photocatalytic degradation of various dyes in actual water. Using MoS2/Cu2S/MoO3 as an electrocatalyst attains a low overpotential of 59 mV at 10 mV cm-2 and Tafel slope of 56 mV dec-1, the enhancement factor (EF) of MoS2/Cu2S/MoO3 substrate can reach 1.4 × 106 and detect 10-12 M with methylene blue (MB) as a probe molecule. Meanwhile, MoS2/Cu2S/MoO3 as a photocatalyst has also displayed outstanding photocatalytic performance, malachite green (MG) dye degradation rate is close to 99% in 24 min under visible-light. This excellent multiple performance can be attributed to the forming of ternary heterostructure with appropriate band gap to accelerate charge transfer and separation. Meanwhile, the formation of 1T-MoS2 and MoO3 not only decrease the activation energy needed for the reduction reaction, but also provides additional active sites for the catalytic reaction. The designed strategy can provide new ideas for the preparation of other high-performance ternary heterojunctions, it will guide scientists to use wastewater to prepare clean energy.