Issue 30, 2022

Selective deposition of cocatalyst NiS on a g-C3N4/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction for exceptional photocatalytic H2 evolution

Abstract

Photocatalytic H2 generation has long been supposed to be an intriguing approach for obtaining clean energy, but it is challenging to achieve a satisfactory efficiency mainly restricted by the high recombination rate of photoexcited carriers. The designing of a directional channel for the spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes to different components may be an ideal solution. To prove this point, a ternary hybrid g-C3N4/ZnIn2S4/NiS, in which NiS is directionally anchored onto ZnIn2S4, is successfully synthesized according to the Fajans rule. Compared with single g-C3N4, ZnIn2S4 and the counterpart in which NiS is randomly deposited onto g-C3N4/ZnIn2S4, the designed g-C3N4/ZnIn2S4/NiS exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity, with an H2 evolution rate of 16310 μmol g−1. The mechanism research showed that the matched band structure and interfacial electric field oriented from ZnIn2S4 to g-C3N4 facilitate the photo-induced electron transfer from g-C3N4 to ZnIn2S4. NiS nanoparticles that attached to ZnIn2S4 can act as electron trappers, thus further promoting the electron-hole separation efficiency. This work sheds light on the rational design and synthesis of heterojunctions for photocatalytic applications.

Graphical abstract: Selective deposition of cocatalyst NiS on a g-C3N4/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction for exceptional photocatalytic H2 evolution

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 May 2022
Accepted
05 Jul 2022
First published
05 Jul 2022

New J. Chem., 2022,46, 14502-14509

Selective deposition of cocatalyst NiS on a g-C3N4/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction for exceptional photocatalytic H2 evolution

Y. Xia, Y. He, X. Liu, R. Huang, R. Liang, F. Chen and G. Yan, New J. Chem., 2022, 46, 14502 DOI: 10.1039/D2NJ02545K

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