Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2024, Vol. 59: 334-345.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(23)64633-9

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Hierarchical S-scheme heterojunctions of ZnIn2S4-decorated TiO2 for enhancing photocatalytic H2 evolution

Baolong Zhanga,1, Fangxuan Liua,1, Bin Suna,b,*(), Tingting Gaoa,b, Guowei Zhoua,*()   

  1. aKey Laboratory of Fine Chemicals in Universities of Shandong, Jinan Engineering Laboratory for Multi-scale Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, Shandong, China
    bShandong Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Green Manufacturing at Yantai, Yantai 264006, Shandong, China
  • Received:2024-01-29 Accepted:2024-02-21 Online:2024-04-18 Published:2024-04-15
  • Contact: *E-mail: binsun@qlu.edu.cn (B. Sun), gwzhou@qlu.edu.cn (G. Zhou).
  • About author:

    1Contributed equally to this work.

  • Supported by:
    The National Natural Science Foundation of China(52202102);The National Natural Science Foundation of China(51972180);The Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(ZR2019BB030);The Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(ZR2020ME082);The Science and Technology Support Plan for Youth Innovation of Colleges and Universities of Shandong Province(2021KJ056);The Science Fund of Shandong Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Green Manufacturing at Yantai(AMGM2023F13);The Science Fund of Shandong Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Green Manufacturing at Yantai(AMGM2021F05);The Undergraduate Training Program on Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Shandong Province(S202210431016);The Science, Education and Industry Integration of Basic Research Projects of Qilu University of Technology(2023PY022)

Abstract:

Photocatalytic water splitting to produce H2 using semiconductor photocatalysts is a reliable approach to alleviating energy shortages and environmental pollution. However, the inadequate light-harvesting ability, rapid photogenerated carrier recombination, and inferior redox capacity of the individual photocatalysts restrict their photocatalytic activity. To address these limitations, a hierarchical S-scheme heterojunction of ZnIn2S4-nanosheet-decorated flower-like TiO2 microspheres for enhancing photocatalytic H2 evolution, purposely constructed through in situ chemical bath deposition, has been reported. The as-synthesized TiO2/ZnIn2S4 heterojunctions exhibited ZnIn2S4-content-dependent photocatalytic activity for solar-driven H2 evolution. As a result, the optimized TiO2/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction exhibited a superior photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of 6.85 mmol g-1 h-1, approximately 171.2- and 3.9-fold with respect to that obtained on pure TiO2 and ZnIn2S4, respectively, mainly attributed to the unique hierarchical structure, extended light-harvesting ability, enhanced redox capacity, and improved separation and transfer efficiencies of the photogenerated carriers induced by the S-scheme heterojunctions. Simultaneously, a detailed analysis of the S-scheme electron transfer pathway in the TiO2/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction was performed using in situ irradiated X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. This study provides insights into the design of highly active heterojunction photocatalysts for sustainable solar-to-fuel energy conversion.

Key words: TiO2, Hierarchical structure, ZnIn2S4, S-scheme heterojunction, Photocatalysis, H2 evolution