Noble‐Metal‐Free Janus‐like Structures by Cation Exchange for Z‐Scheme Photocatalytic Water Splitting under Broadband Light Irradiation

Z‐scheme water splitting is a promising approach based on high‐performance photocatalysis by harvesting broadband solar energy. Its efficiency depends on the well‐defined interfaces between two semiconductors for the charge kinetics and their exposed surfaces for chemical reactions. Herein, we repor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2017-04, Vol.56 (15), p.4206-4210
Main Authors: Yuan, Qichen, Liu, Dong, Zhang, Ning, Ye, Wei, Ju, Huanxin, Shi, Lei, Long, Ran, Zhu, Junfa, Xiong, Yujie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Broadband
Cation exchange
Cation exchanging
Charge efficiency
Charge exchange
Chemical reactions
Energy harvesting
Hydrogen production
Integration
Interfaces
Irradiation
Janus structures
Light irradiation
Metals
Noble metals
Photocatalysis
Radiation
Semiconductors
Solar energy
Splitting
Water splitting
Z-scheme
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Summary:Z‐scheme water splitting is a promising approach based on high‐performance photocatalysis by harvesting broadband solar energy. Its efficiency depends on the well‐defined interfaces between two semiconductors for the charge kinetics and their exposed surfaces for chemical reactions. Herein, we report a facile cation‐exchange approach to obtain compounds with both properties without the need for noble metals by forming Janus‐like structures consisting of γ‐MnS and Cu7S4 with high‐quality interfaces. The Janus‐like γ‐MnS/Cu7S4 structures displayed dramatically enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production rates of up to 718 μmol g−1 h−1 under full‐spectrum irradiation. Upon further integration with an MnOx oxygen‐evolution cocatalyst, overall water splitting was accomplished with the Janus structures. This work provides insight into the surface and interface design of hybrid photocatalysts, and offers a noble‐metal‐free approach to broadband photocatalytic hydrogen production. Janus‐like structures consisting of γ‐MnS and Cu7S4 with high‐quality interfaces were obtained by facile cation exchange. The hybrid structures exhibit broadband light absorption and improved charge separation, which led to a hydrogen production rate of 718 μmol g−1 h−1 under full‐spectrum irradiation.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.201700150