CuInS 2 nanoparticles embedded in mesoporous TiO 2 nanofibers for boosted photocatalytic hydrogen production

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Materials for optical and electronic devices, 2020-08, Vol.8 (32), p.11001-11007
• Main Authors: Hou, Huilin, Yuan, Yanfen, Cao, Sheng, Yang, Yueping, Ye, Xiaming, Yang, Weiyou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2050-7526; 2050-7534
• DOI: 10.1039/D0TC02244F

Coupling narrow-band semiconductors with TiO 2 photocatalysts is a promising avenue for simultaneously broadening their light absorption and accelerating charge separation, thus improving the solar-driven hydrogen generation. In this work, we devise a unique TiO 2 @CuInS 2 heterojunction photocatalyst through embedding CuInS 2 nanoparticles into mesoporous TiO 2 nanofibers. The obtained TiO 2 @CuInS 2 nanojunction possessed intimate interfacial contact, which efficiently promoted the charge separation, thus resulting in enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production activity both under visible light and AM1.5 irradiation. After optimizing the component ratio of CuInS 2 , the corresponding TiO 2 @CuInS 2 sample delivered a significantly boosted photocatalytic H 2 production activity without any co-catalytic noble metals, up to 3 times as high as that of pure TiO 2 under AM1.5 irradiation. This study may provide new insights for designing and constructing highly efficient photocatalysts for solar hydrogen production.