Yuming Sun,Yue Hao,Xinyu Lin,Zhonghuan Liu,Hongyang Sun,Shuhan Jia,Yahui Chen,Yongsheng Yan,Xuefei Li
The efficiency of the photocatalytic reaction is mainly determined by the effective separation of photogenerated electron (e - ) and hole (h + ). As a high electrical conductivity, two-dimensional (2D) Ti 3 C 2 MXene is widely used as an electronic transmission intermediary with a large surface area and active terminal. In this work, 1D CuZnInS are loaded on the surface of 2D Ti 3 C 2 MXene nanosheets to compound 1D/2D CuZnInS/Ti 3 C 2 nanocomposites with effective inhibition of charge-carrier recombination. The H 2 production rate of optimized 1D/2D CuZnInS/Ti 3 C 2 composite reached 15.24 mmol h −1 g −1 , which is 4.5 times than that of pure CuZnInS (3.38 mmol h −1 g −1 ), and the apparent quantum efficiencies (AQEs) of composite photocatalysts can reach 0.39% and 0.24% under light irradiation at 365 nm and 420 nm wavelength, respectively. In addition, 1D/2D CuZnInS/Ti 3 C 2 has high stability after 10 cycles. The enhanced photocatalytic performance is attributed to the large specific surface area of 2D Ti 3 C 2 nanosheets, which facilitates the separation and transfer of photogenerated e - and h + pairs.
Ying Zhang,Chao Qu,Decai Yang,Lanyang Wang,Youguo Luo,Qing Ye
Graphitic carbon nitride-based (g-C 3 N 4 ) catalysts that respond to visible light have exhibited substantial potential for application in water splitting for hydrogen production. However, the material faces challenges such as low quantum efficiency and restricted utilization of visible light. In this study, we developed a Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst comprising ultrathin g-C 3 N 4 (ExCN) and CuZnInS (CZIS), which significantly enhances the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance. Notably, the hydrogen production rate reached up to 185.23 μmol g −1 h −1 without platinum co-catalysts. Comprehensive characterization and mechanism analysis revealed that the ultrathin, porous structure and oxygen-doped characteristics of ExCN markedly increased the number of active sites and extend the visible light response range. Moreover, ExCN serves as an effective carrier for CZIS particles. The coupling of CZIS with ExCN to form a Z-scheme heterojunction effectively promoted the spatial separation of photogenerated charge carriers. The narrow bandgap of CZIS broadens the light response range, while metal sites function as electron traps, suppressing electron-hole recombination and further enhancing catalytic efficiency. This study offers new insights into the rational design of visible-light-responsive hydrogen production catalysts based on graphitic carbon nitride.