One-pot synthesis of Fe₂O₃/WS₂ heterojunction for improved visible-light-driven photo-Fenton-like reaction

The Fe2O3/WS2 composite was synthesized using a one-pot solid-state reaction, resulting in highly dispersed Fe2O3 on two-dimensional (2D) WS2 nanosheets. The obtained composites outperformed pure WS2 and Fe2O3 in photo-Fenton-like (PFL) activity for the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light, with the highest elimination efficiency of 95.61% after 70 mins of treatment. The Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling reaction can be strengthened by the photogenerated electrons from WS2 to Fe2O3, which significantly increases the efficiency of H2O2 consumption and then enhances the PFL activity. This is due to the possibly promoting charge transfer over the hetero-interface of Fe2O3 and WS2, accelerating strong redox power, and elongating photo-induced charge carriers' lifetime.