Au Nanoparticle and CdS Quantum Dot Codecoration of In₂O₃ Nanosheets for Improved H₂ Evolution Resulting from Efficient Light Harvesting and Charge Transfer

Abstract

Au nanoparticle (NP)- and CdS quantum dot (QD)-codecorated In2O3 nanosheets, assembled into flowerlike structure (In2O3/Au/CdS), were synthesized to facilitate photocatalytic H2 production. The optimized In2O3/Au4/CdS-12 (4 wt % Au NPs and CdS QDs were deposited for 12 cycles) displays achieved a photocatalytic hydrogen generation ability of 17.23 μmol/h (10 mg of catalyst), which is 22.97, 5.08, and 5.05 times as high as that of pristine In2O3 (0.75 μmol/h), In2O3/Au4 (3.39 μmol/h), and In2O3/CdS-12 (3.41 μmol/h), respectively. This significant improvement of H2 generation rate can be attributed to the following factors: the heterojunction at the In2O3–CdS interface and the Schottky barrier at the interface between In2O3–Au and CdS–Au improves the migration and separation of charge carriers, and the surface plasma resonance (SPR) effect of noble metal Au NPs enhances the light harvesting capacity of In2O3 and boosts the generation of hot electrons, efficiently improving the utilization rate of sunlight.

MOFs‐Derived Fusiform In2O3 Mesoporous Nanorods Anchored with Ultrafine CdZnS Nanoparticles for Boosting Visible‐Light Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

“…[ 49,54,55 ] More interestingly, the H 2 ‐evolution rate of present In 2 O 3 /CdZnS photocatalyst is superior to those of most In 2 O 3 , CdS, ZnS, and CdZnS‐based heterojunction photocatalysts, as shown in Figure 6e and Table S4 (Supporting Information). [ 46,49,54–64 ]…”

3D Graphene‐Based H2‐Production Photocatalyst and Electrocatalyst

“…Most common metal oxides, such as TiO 2 , [ 173–175 ] ZnO, [ 160 ] In 2 O 3 , [ 176 ] etc., exhibit their potential as active HER photocatalyst owing to their relatively negative CB position. However, the large bandgap lowers the incident light absorption efficiency, and photons with higher energy are needed to excite the VB electrons.…”

In situ growth of Ag2S quantum dots on SnS2 nanosheets with enhanced charge separation efficiency and CO2 reduction performance

“…To enhance its photoactivity, modification of the SnS 2 microstructure by coupling with other photocatalysts can be considered. 11–16,27–29…”

“…The unusual physicochemical properties of 2Dmaterials include high specic surface area, fast chargecarrier separation and migration, abundance of reactive sites, and suitability to act as substrates in the synthesis of hybrid materials. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Among various 2D materials SnS 2 nanosheets (NSs) comprising layers linked by van der Waals forces have displayed promising applications as light-trapping antennae in dye-sensitized solar cells, 19 photoelectric devices, 20 gas sensors, 21 and hydrogen energy storage appliances. 22,23 Particularly, the narrow bandgap with excellent average photoelectron diffusion distance ($0.4-0.22 mm) is overwhelmingly benecial for photocatalytic CO 2 reduction reactions.…”