MnWO4 nanorods embedded into amorphous MoS microsheets in 2D/1D MoS /MnWO4 S–scheme heterojunction for visible-light photocatalytic water oxidation

• A novel MoS x /MnWO 4 hybrid was constructed for boosting photocatalytic O 2 evolution. • A charge accumulation interlayer between MoS x and MnWO 4 accelerates charge transportation. • The S–scheme heterostructure promotes efficiencies of sunlight utilization and charge separation. In this work, a novel amorphous molybdenum disulfide/manganese tungstate (MoS x /MnWO 4 ) hybrid in S–scheme heterojunction was designed and synthesized for photocatalytic water splitting to oxygen generation under visible light. In the hybrids, a strong chemical interlayer between amorphous MoS x microsheets and MnWO 4 nanorods was created by partial substitution of Mo for W, which increases charge transportation efficiency by reducing charge transfer barrier, verified by the computational density functional theory (DFT) and photoelectrochemical tests. A 0.5 wt% MoS x /MnWO 4 system (2D/1D) displayed a remarkable enhancement in photocatalytic activity of O 2 evolution, up to 267.8 μmol g –1 under visible light illumination (> 420 nm). The formed S–scheme heterojunction structure efficiently promotes the utilization of solar light and separation efficiency of photo-generated charge carriers, leading to the improvement of photocatalytic water oxidation performance.