Flower ball MoS₂ embedded in sheet-like Sm₂WO₆ to construct p–n heterojunction for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Photocatalytic hydrogen production is one of the effective ways of global energy conservation and emission reduction. Herein, we report the successful embedding of flower ball MoS₂ into Sm₂WO₆ using the hydrothermal method, and p-n heterojunction is obtained successfully. Due to the narrow band gap of MoS₂, the Sm₂WO₆/ MoS₂ composite photocatalyst effectively improves the photogenerated carrier separation. The better redox capacity of Sm₂WO₆ itself also promotes the reduction capacity of Sm₂WO₆/MoS₂. The petals on MoS₂ are closely bound to Sm₂WO₆, which enhances the electron transport efficiency and is one of the main factors for improving photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (HER). To explore the performance of Sm₂WO₆/ MoS₂ by various means of representation. And the HER performance of Sm₂WO₆/ MoS₂ is evaluated using eosin Y (EY) as sensitizer and TEOA as sacrifice agent. Compared with pure Sm₂WO₆, Sm₂WO₆/ MoS₂ has improved HER performance, and its optimal activity is 142.7 µmol, which is nearly 140 times that of pure Sm₂WO₆. This study demonstrates a novel morphology design strategy for composite photocatalysts to promote efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production.