Photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants over MoS2/Ag-ZnFe2O4 Z-scheme heterojunction: Revealing the synergistic effects of exposed crystal facets, defect engineering, and Z-scheme mechanism

MoS2/Ag-ZnFe2O4 Z-scheme heterojunction with exposed crystal facets, Ag-doping and oxygen vacancies was used for highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. [Display omitted] •The {0 0 1}/{1 1 1} facet-based heterojunctions promote the photocatalytic activity.•The concentration of crystal defects directly relates to the number and type of crystal facets.•Z-scheme mechanism contributes more to the photocatalytic activity than crystal facets and defects.•The synergistic effect is deeply investigated by spectroscopic characterizations and theoretical calculation. Defect engineering, exposed crystal facets, and Z-scheme mechanism are promising strategies to greatly promote photocatalytic performance. Herein, the ZnFe2O4 (ZFO) with Ag-doping, oxygen vacancies and different exposed crystal facets was firstly prepared by a facile hydrothermal strategy. Subsequently, the MoS2 flowers were in-situ grown on the surface of the prepared Ag-doping ZFO (Ag-ZFO) for fabricating MoS2/Ag-ZFO Z-scheme heterojunction by hydrothermal strategy. Due to the synergistic effects of defect engineering (Ag-doping and oxygen vacancies), exposed crystal facets, and Z-scheme mechanism, the photocatalytic activity for tetracycline degradation was evidently improved. More importantly, the prepared MoS2/Ag-ZFO (T) also show excellent photocatalytic performance under real environment water. This work offers a new insight for future design and development of highly active photocatalysts.