Facile in situ formation of a ternary 3D ZnIn 2 S 4 –MoS 2 microsphere/1D CdS nanorod heterostructure for high-efficiency visible-light photocatalytic H 2 production

• Published in: Nanoscale 2020-07, Vol.12 (25), p.13791-13800
• Main Authors: Wang, Lan, Zhou, Hanghang, Zhang, Hongzhong, Song, Yali, Zhang, Huan, Luo, Lingkun, Yang, Yifan, Bai, Shiqi, Wang, Yue, Liu, Shuaixia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/D0NR03196H

To achieve high photocatalytic efficiency, developing heterostructure photocatalysts by integrating two or more semiconductor materials into a well-oriented nanostructure is an effective strategy. Therefore, under visible light irradiation, a novel ternary 3D ZnIn 2 S 4 –MoS 2 microsphere/1D CdS nanorod (ZIS/MoS 2 /CdS) photocatalyst with excellent H 2 evolution ability was prepared. For this purpose, using the solvothermal method, interfacial contact ZIS/MoS 2 microspheres were prepared, and 1D CdS nanorods were closely inserted into the interspace of flower-shaped ZIS/MoS 2 microspheres, to generate close contact between ZnIn 2 S 4 , MoS 2 , and CdS. To expedite the production, separation, and transfer of photoinduced electron–hole pairs, this unique ternary heterostructure demonstrated excellent energy level distribution and a dimensional structure. Under the same conditions, the H 2 production rate of the component proportion of the 150%-ZIS/10%-MoS 2 /CdS (150 wt% ZIS and 10 wt% MoS 2 ) photocatalyst reached 7570.4 μmol g −1 h −1 , which was ∼39.8 and 69.0 times higher than that achieved using bare ZnIn 2 S 4 and CdS, respectively. Furthermore, the apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) reached 30.38% at 420 nm within 6 h; thus, for designing photocatalysts with a diversiform structure and spatial charge separation, this study provides new tactics.