Construction of noble-metal-free TiO₂ nanobelt/ZnIn₂S₄ nanosheet heterojunction nanocomposite for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract

A binary nanocomposite composed of two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheets and one-dimension (1D) TiO 2 nanobelts was prepared and applied as a noble-metal-free photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution under solar-light irradiation. The TiO 2 nanobelt/ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheet heterojunction nanocomposites show higher light absorption capacity, larger surface area and higher separation of charge carriers in comparison to pristine TiO 2 and ZnIn 2 S 4 . As a result, the hydrogen production over the TiO 2 /ZnIn 2 S 4 nanocomposite with 15 wt% TiO 2 can reach up to 348.21 μmol•g −1 •h −1 , even without noble metals, which is about 26 and 2.3 times higher than the pristine TiO 2 and ZnIn 2 S 4 , respectively. Meanwhile, a possible photocatalytic mechanism of TiO 2 /ZnIn 2 S 4 heterojunction nanocomposites was proposed and corroborated by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and photoelectrochemical (PEC) results. This work paves a way for developing low-cost and high-efficiency noble-metal-free photocatalytic systems for solar-to-hydrogen evolution.

A Review and Recent Developments in Full‐Spectrum Photocatalysis using ZnIn2S4‐Based Photocatalysts

“…Wei et al fabricated the highly active noble metal‐free TiO 2 /ZIS composite photocatalysts formed by ZIS nanosheets uniformly deposited on TiO 2 nanobelts through a simple hydrothermal method. [ 88 ] Compared with the pristine TiO 2 and ZIS, the photocatalyst obtained after the composite of ZIS and TiO 2 has larger surface area, higher light absorption capacity, and higher separation of charge carrier, resulting in enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance. Chen et al prepared the helical CdS@ZIS core–shell nanocomposites by in situ covering ZIS nanosheets on the surface of 1D CdS nanorods in the hydrothermal environment.…”

Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Using Ternary‐Metal‐Sulfide/TiO2 Heterojunction Photocatalysts

“…Functional two-dimensional (2D) layered materials generally have a high specific surface area and increased photon absorption to promote reactant diffusion and a large number of active sites; thus, they have been widely investigated as photocatalysts. [45] ZnIn 2 S 4 has the advantages of high activity, favorable chemical stability, and an appropriate band gap, making it suitable for visible light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution applications. [46,[70][71][72][73] Lei et al reported the single ZnIn 2 S 4 photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution.…”

“…[32][33][34][35] Guided by the scientific route of BMS/TiO 2 , the combination of TMS and TiO 2 , constructing AgGaS 2 /TiO 2 , AgIn 5 S 8 /TiO 2 , AgInS 2 /TiO 2 , AgBiS 2 /TiO 2 , CuInS 2 / TiO 2 , and ZnIn 2 S 4 /TiO 2 heterojunction photocatalysts, have been developed for the application of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution via water splitting. [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] However, the systematical summary of TMS/TiO 2 heterojunction photocatalysts is rarely well-introduced expect Yang et al reviewed the ZnIn 2 S 4 -based photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. [46] This review not only referred to the ZnIn 2 S 4 /TiO 2 based photocatalysts but provided several effective path for further photoactivity enhancement of ZnIn 2 S 4 /TiO 2 based photocatalysts, like doping, vacancy control, and morphology control, which has guiding significance to improve the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of TMS/TiO 2 photocatalysts.…”

V-Substituted ZnIn2S4: A (Visible+NIR) Light-Active Photocatalyst

“…On the other hand, ZnIn 2 S 4 has been combined with other semiconductors to improve photocatalytic properties. Thus, it has been combined with oxides, like in [11][12][13][14][15]; it has also been combined with other sulphides, as in [16][17][18][19], or even nitrides and phosphides [20,21]. Additionally, some reviews on its use, or on the use of similar materials, have appeared [22][23][24][25], and our group has done a recent publication including references to the ZnIn 2 S 4 system [26].…”