Construction of 1D@2D core–shell Co3O4@ZnIn2S4 heterostructure with tailored visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen production

Developing core–shell heterostructured photocatalysts with delicate morphology control is deemed as an universal and effective strategy to expedite the separation/transfer of photogenerated carriers toward enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen generation. Herein, a core–shell heterostructure (Co 3 O 4 @ZIS) was constructed with ZnIn 2 S 4 (ZIS) nanosheet as shell and Co 3 O 4 nanorod as core for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production. As expected, the optimized 4 wt% Co 3 O 4 @ZIS displays a distinguished photocatalytic hydrogen production performance with hydrogen generation rate of 3407.1 µmol g −1 h −1 (about 8.21 times of pure ZIS) and remarkable stability, exceeding most of the ZIS-based photocatalyst in previous reports. The boosted performance is stemmed from the unique core–shell heterostructure of Co 3 O 4 @ZIS, which provides enhanced light absorption and tightly bonded interface, thus accelerating the migration and hindering the recombination of the photoinduced of charge carriers. This work proposes a bright prospect for ZIS based core–shell heterostructures for photocatalytic hydrogen production from water in the presence of TEOA as a sacrificial agent.