Remarkable Enhancement in Solar Oxygen Evolution from MoSe2/Ag3PO4 Heterojunction Photocatalyst via In Situ Constructing Interfacial Contact

Exploring low-cost and earth-abundant cocatalysts is important for developing an efficient photocatalytic system for water splitting. Herein, we report a hybrid photocatalyst consisting of Ag 3 PO 4 nanoparticles in situ grown on the surface of two-dimensional MoSe 2 nanoarchitectures acting as a noble-metal-free cocatalyst for photocatalytic oxygen evolution under LED-light irradiation. The MoSe 2 /Ag 3 PO 4 heterojunctions exhibited an obviously enhanced activity for photocatalytic O 2 generation compared with pure Ag 3 PO 4 or the physical mixed samples with the same component, and the MoSe 2 /Ag 3 PO 4 composite with an optimal ratio of cocatalysts demonstrated the highest O 2 evolution rate of 182 μmol·L –1 ·g –1 ·h –1 . The highly photocatalytic performance could be mainly ascribed to the formation of close and large contact interface between MoSe 2 and Ag 3 PO 4 via in situ preparation method, leading to ultrafast interfacial charge migration and highly efficient charge separation. More importantly, introduction of MoSe 2 cocatalyst not only could promote light harvesting and provide more active adsorption sites, but also prevent the photocorrosion of the Ag 3 PO 4 during the photocatalytic reaction. This work may open up new insights for the introduction of a noble-metal-free MoSe 2 as an effective cocatalyst for solar energy conversion to achieve O 2 generation.