Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2026, Vol. 82: 278-291.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(26)64957-1

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Synergistic effect of S-doping and nitrogen-vacancy engineering on 2D/3D S-scheme photocatalyst for efficient photosynthesis of H2O2

Chunyuan Chena,c, Zhongliao Wanga,d, Ying Maa,*(), Bo Wengb,e,*(), Shifu Chena,c, Sugang Menga,c,*()   

  1. aKey Laboratory of Green and Precise Synthetic Chemistry and Applications, Ministry of Education, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, Anhui, China
    bState Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, Fujian, China
    cAnhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Chemistry and Applications, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, Anhui, China
    dSchool of Physics and Electronic Information, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, Anhui, China
    eUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2025-07-01 Accepted:2025-10-23 Online:2026-03-18 Published:2026-03-05
  • Contact: * E-mail: mayingdicp@163.com (Y. Ma),bweng@iue.ac.cn (B. Weng),sgmeng@chnu.edu.cn (S. Meng).
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(52002142);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52272297);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52402116);Funding Program for Leading scholar of Anhui Province(DTR2025015);Foundation of Key Laboratory of Green and Precise Synthetic Chemistry and Applications(KLGPSCA202502);Foundation of Anhui Province for Distinguished Young Scholars(2022AH020038)

Abstract:

The green photocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has attracted considerable attention as an environmentally friendly approach for H2O2 production. However, the rapid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, reliance on sacrificial agents, and low activity and selectivity of photocatalytic H2O2 remain major challenges for the further development of this process. In this study, we synthesized an S-scheme composite photocatalyst composed of N-vacancy-tailored, sulfur-modified graphitic carbon nitride (Vr-CNS) and Zn2In2S5 (ZIS) that enabled solar-driven H2O2 synthesis, achieving a rate of 475.6 μmol g-1 h-1 in pure water and air without sacrificial agents. This represents a five-fold enhancement over pristine graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). S-doping mainly altered the electronic structure of g-C3N4, resulting in bandgap narrowing and a redshift of the absorption edge. N vacancies (NV) not only promoted charge separation and reduced charge transfer resistance, but also accelerated surface reactions. Moreover, NV lowered the energy barrier due to O2 adsorption, which is the rate-determining step, thereby accelerating the reaction. The S-scheme Vr-CNS/ZIS heterojunction retained the strong reduction ability of Vr-CNS and robust oxidation capability of ZIS. The presence of NV strengthened the electronic coupling between Vr-CNS and ZIS after heterojunction contact. The synergistic effect of defect engineering (sulfur doping coupled with nitrogen vacancies) and the S-scheme accelerated the reaction kinetics, promoting the migration and separation of the photogenerated carriers. This study provides an effective strategy for the design of multifunctional photocatalysts by exploiting the synergy between defect engineering and S-scheme heterojunctions.

Key words: Photocatalysis, H2O2, S-doped g-C3N4, Nitrogen vacancies, S-scheme heterojunctions