Synthesis of interface modified MoS2/ZnO heterostructure via simple hydrothermal method and their enhanced UV photodetection characteristics with ultrafast photoresponse speed

•MoS2/ZnO heterostructure, which has type-II band alignment, can be synthesized by using hydrothermal method.•Morphology of hydrothermally synthesized MoS2/ZnO heterostructure was sea urchins with large surface area and the growth orientation was changed from vertical to diagonal due to the small amount of ZnO nuclei.•UV photodetector fabricated by using MoS2/ZnO heterostructure exhibited extremely high photocurrent value and highly improved photoresponsivity and photosensitivity with ultrafast response speed.•The drawbacks of ZnO-based UV photodetectors can be overcome by modifying the electron flow via MoS2/ZnO heterostructure.