Mxene enhanced the photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanorods under visible light

•ZnO nanorods/MXene (ZnO-MX) hybrids were fabricated by ultrasonic oscillation.•ZnO-MX hybrids composite displayed good photocatalytic hydrogen production property.•ZnO-MX hybrids composite exhibited very high photocatalytic activity and satisfactory recyclability under visible-light. MXene is a novel metal compound with narrow band gap and has been widely applied in energy storage, solar energy cells, and hydrogen production. A simple technique was used to attain MXene, and then the ZnO nanorods/MXene (ZnO-MX) hybrids were fabricated by ultrasonic oscillation. Experimental results illustrated that MXene sheets were decorated by ZnO nanorods, and the resultant ZnO-MX hybrids possessed higher removal ability of Rhodamine B (RhB) than pure ZnO nanorods, in which the removal efficient was 3.2 times as fast as pure ZnO nanorods (0.0077 min−1) under visible light irradiation. Additionally, the photocatalytic hydrogen production of ZnO nanorods was improved by MXene sheet significantly. The enhancement was because MXene sheet increased the surface area of ZnO nanorods and reduced the resistance of transferring photo-engendered carriers, indicating that MXene sheet can serve as suitable carrier for photocatalytic materials.