Construction of layered hollow Fe3O4/Fe1−xS @MoS2 composite with enhanced photo-Fenton and adsorption performance

•A novel hybrid of MoS2 decorated with hollow Fe3O4/Fe1−xS nanocube were synthesized.•The photo-Fenton and adsorption behavior of this hybrid were investigated.•The optimized sample performs excellent photo-Fenton and adsorption performance.•The construction way of structure is helpful to develop other catalysts and adsorbents. Photo-Fenton catalysts enable to completely remove contaminants from water with its advanced oxidation technology. In this paper, a layered hollow Fe3O4/Fe1−xS@MoS2 composite as photo-Fenton catalyst and adsorbent was reported to remove organic dyes and antibiotics from water. First, Prussian blue is subjected to ion exchange and subsequent calcination to synthesize hollow Fe2O3. Then, a layered hollow composite material Fe3O4/Fe1−xS@MoS2 was synthesized by simple in situ hydrothermal growth of MoS2 with Fe2O3 as the substrate. The synthesized sample exhibited excellent photo-Fenton degradation performance and high adsorption capacity. Under the condition of unregulated pH, the degradation of 20 mg/L RhB solution just carried out within 4 min using 0.2 g/L of Fe3O4/Fe1−xS@MoS2-50 %. The result indicates that strong oxidizing of OH is the main active species. In addition, the maximum adsorption capacity of Fe3O4/Fe1−xS @MoS2-50 % sample adsorbed tetracycline hydrochloride reached 748.9 mg/L. The adsorption process follows pseudo-second-order kinetics model and Freundlich isotherm model. It is confirmed that the sample revealed fine cycle stability in both the photo-Fenton and the adsorption process. Moreover, the material has ferromagnetism for easy recycling. The layered hollow composite Fe3O4/Fe1−xS @MoS2 can be used as an excellent catalyst and adsorbent for environmental treatment. This present work provides new insight into the synthesis of photo-Fenton catalyst and adsorbent for sewage treatment.