Construction of novel 2D-0D MnPS3–Cs4W11O35 composite for the improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is a prospective approach to solve the problem about energy crisis by fossil fuel combustion . As a possible novel photocatalyst for hydrogen generation , MnPS 3 suffered from the lower photocatalytic activity caused by its high electron-hole recombination rate and poor oxidation capability of holes. In this paper, the MnPS 3 nanosheets were exfoliated under sonication process in the solution of N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) and 3-ethoxypropylamine, and then a series of Z-scheme 2D-0D MnPS 3 –Cs 4 W 11 O 35 composites were prepared by a facile electrostatic assembling approach. The exfoliated MnPS 3 nanosheets with the thickness of 5.4 nm present evidently increased interlayer spacing of 17.6 Å compared with 6.42 Å of bulk MnPS 3 . The Cs 4 W 11 O 35 of 20–25 nm are uniformly immobilized on the surface of 400 nm exfoliated MnPS 3 sheets with strong interfacial interaction of S–W–O bonds. The MnPS 3 –Cs 4 W 11 O 35 composites show extended light absorption area, reduced charge recombination and significantly improved hydrogen generation activity compared with MnPS 3 nanosheets. The highest hydrogen evolution rate of the MnPS 3 –Cs 4 W 11 O 35 composites reaches 99.6 μmol g −1  h −1 with a Cs 4 W 11 O 35 mass percent of 10.9, which is 2.9 times of MnPS 3 nanosheets. The photocatalytic activity of MnPS 3 –Cs 4 W 11 O 35 remains nearly unchanged after 4 cycles. As far as we are aware, there is no work carried out on the exfoliation of MnPS 3 sheets in NMP and the fabrication of MnPS 3 –Cs 4 W 11 O 35 composite for the enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen generation yet. Our work provides a new reference method for the preparation of unlaminated composite materials, and the novel MnPS 3 -based composite will be a useful supplement to the photocatalytic production of clean energy.