Facile fabrication and enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity of few-layer MoS2 coupled BiOBr microspheres

Novel sphere-like MoS2/BiOBr composites were prepared by a facile ethylene glycol (EG)-assisted solvothermal process in the presence of the ionic liquid 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C(16)mim]Br). A nanostructured heterojunction, with few-layer MoS2 deposited on the surface of BiOBr microspheres, was constructed. During the synthetic process, the ionic liquid acted as a reactant, a template and a dispersing agent at the same time, leading to the formation of few-layer MoS2 dispersed on the surface of BiOBr microspheres. The MoS2/BiOBr composites exhibited much higher visible light photocatalytic activity towards rhodamine B (RhB) photodegradation than pure BiOBr. 3 wt% MoS2/BiOBr possessed the optimal photocatalytic activity, which was approximately 2.5 times as high as that of pure BiOBr. Through multiple characterization techniques, the relationship between the specific structure and the admirable photocatalytic activity of the MoS2/BiOBr microspheres was investigated. The critical role of the few-layer MoS2 in the MoS2/BiOBr microspheres was explored. A photocatalytic mechanism for the MoS2/BiOBr composites was also proposed.