Searching for novel photocatalysts is one of the most important topic in photocatalytic fields. In the present work, we propose a feasible approach to improve the photocatalytic activities of 2D bilayers through surface decoration, i.e. hydrogenation, halogenation, and hydroxylation. Our investigations demonstrate that after surface modification, the optical adsorption expands into the visible region, while a built-in electric field is induced due to the interlayer coupling, which can promote the charge separation for photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Our results show that the indirect-direct band gap transition of SiC, SnC, BN and GaN can be realised through adatom decoration. Furthermore, the surface-modified 2D bilayers have suitable VBM and CBM alignments with the oxidation and reduction potentials for water splitting, suggesting powerful potentials in energy and environmental applications.