Facile preparation of Co-doped ZnIn2S4 nanosheets for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production

Utilizing solar energy to produce hydrogen peroxide from oxygen and water offers an appealing and sustainable approach. In this work, Co-doped ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheets were effectively synthesized through a chemical precipitation method, and the morphological structure, band structure and pathways for hydrogen peroxide production were investigated. The results indicate that Co doping significantly enhances the photocatalytic efficiency of ZnIn 2 S 4 in producing hydrogen peroxide. The sample with the 2 % doping concentration exhibited the highest rate, with a detected hydrogen peroxide concentration of 535.53 µM in the solution after 100 minutes of exposure to visible light, which is 4.29-fold higher than that of undoped ZnIn 2 S 4 . Further analysis revealed that the improved performance mainly originated from better spectral response, faster photogenerated carrier transport, and lower recombination frequency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.