Mo2N decorated hierarchical ZnIn2S4 with sulfur-rich vacancy photocatalyst for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production

The development of photocatalyst is essential for achieving efficient photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production . Therefore, a novel Mo 2 N (MN) decorated ZnIn 2 S 4 (ZIS) with sulfur-rich vacancy (Sv-ZIS) photocatalyst was rationally constructed via a facile calcining-hydrothermal method for efficient photocatalytic H 2 production. The optimized photocatalyst exhibits an outstanding photocatalytic H 2 production rate of 10.28 mmol·g −1 ·h −1 , 7.52 and 3.11 times higher than that of bare ZIS and S V -ZnIn 2 S 4 (S V -ZIS), respectively. The characterizations reveal that the presence of MN and S-vacancies improves the light absorption capacity, and facilitates the separation and migration of photogenerated carriers. Density functional theory calculations (DFT) have confirmed that MN can optimize ΔG H* to approach 0, which is favorable for photocatalytic hydrogen production . Therefore, the combined effect of MN and S-vacancies facilitates efficient photocatalytic H 2 production of S V -ZIS/MN.