Intercalation Oxidation: A Strategy for Mos2 Modification to Enable Photodegradation of Pollutants

•The intercalation oxidation of MoS2 by oxygen was used to expand the MoS2 layer spacing, thereby improving the photocatalytic activity.•TiO2 is grown on modified MoS2 via hydrothermal heat.•After modification, a Z-type heterojunction was formed between MoS2 and TiO2, which changed the electron migration pathway.•The Response Surface Method is used to analyze the factors affecting the catalytic performance of catalysts.