ZnIn₂S₄-based multi-interface coupled photocatalyst for efficient photothermal synergistic catalytic hydrogen...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Renewable Energy

Background:

• Photothermal synergistic catalysis offers a novel approach for energy conversion.
• Developing efficient photocatalysts is crucial for sustainable hydrogen production.
• S-vacancy ZnIn2S4 (ZIS-Vs) and Ni-NiO@CNFs are explored for enhanced catalytic properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize a multi-interface coupled photocatalyst combining ZIS-Vs with Ni-NiO@CNFs.
• To investigate the synergistic photothermal catalytic effect for enhanced hydrogen production.
• To evaluate the performance and efficiency of the developed composite material.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a composite photocatalyst (Ni-NiO@CNFs/ZIS-Vs) with double Schottky barriers and channels.
• Utilizing visible-near infrared (Vis-NIR) irradiation for internal photothermal catalysis.
• Employing theoretical calculations (Gibbs free energy) and experimental measurements of hydrogen production rates and photothermal conversion efficiency.

Main Results:

• The composite material exhibited a significantly enhanced hydrogen production rate (17.24 mmol·g−1·h−1) and photothermal conversion efficiency (61.42%).
• The optimized catalyst (0.9Ni-NiO@CNFs/ZIS-Vs) showed a 20.52 times higher efficiency than ZIS-Vs under visible light.
• Combined Vis-NIR light and external heating further boosted hydrogen production, reducing activation energy from 16.7 to 9.28 kJ·mol−1.

Conclusions:

• The developed Ni-NiO@CNFs/ZIS-Vs composite demonstrates a highly efficient photothermal synergistic catalytic system for hydrogen production.
• The synergistic effect, double Schottky barrier, and double channel contribute to improved charge separation and catalytic activity.
• This study provides a valuable prototype for designing advanced photothermal catalysts for efficient energy conversion.