Two-dimensional ZnS (propylamine) photocatalyst for efficient visible light photocatalytic H2 production

• Published in: Catalysis today 2021-08, Vol.374, p.4-11
• Main Authors: Yang, Yichen, Chen, Xin, Pan, Yufeng, Song, Huaibing, Zhu, Bin, Wu, Yan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Hydrogen production; Nanonosheets; Photocatalytic; Two-dimensional materials; ZnS-propylamine (pa)
• ISSN: 0920-5861; 1873-4308
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2020.10.032

The ZnS(pa)x nanosheets, which involved amines-intercalation self-assembly into layered material, which gets to 1828 μmol/g hydrogen evolution with 4 h visible light irradiation. [Display omitted] •2D ZnS(pa)0.33 about 12 nm thickness was synthesized by one-step solvothermal method.•Propylamine self-assembled into precursors and intercalated to form 2D ZnS(pa)0.33.•ZnS(pa)0.33 nanosheets show a red shift towards longer wavelength range up to 480 nm.•ZnS(pa)0.33 nanosheets are highly active for photocatalytic H2 evolution from water splitting.•ZnS(pa)0.33 reached an 1828 μmol/g H2 production rate under 4 h irradiation. Photocatalytic hydrogen production is recognized as a prospective technology for energy conversion to alleviate the energy shortage. Hence, we propose a convenient method to synthesize two-dimensional (2D) ZnS-propylamine (pa) hybrid complex materials with traditional solvothermal method, demonstrating prominent photocatalytivity under visible light irradiation. Meanwhile, the improvement of hydrogen production has been further investigated by controlling different in-situ ultrasonic times. The optimized hydrogen generation obtained from ZnS(pa)x was up to 1828 μmol/g under 4 h visible light irradiation. The high performance could be contributed by the inorganic-organic coordination effect on optimizing the morphology and structure, which enlarge reaction sites and accelerate carriers migration of the material. This work represents an effective approach to promote and optimize the traditional wide bandgap semiconductors for enlarging visible light photocatalytic performances.