A ternary rh/c-In2O3/CdIn2S4 heterostructure photocatalyst: In-situ construction and boosting high-efficient visible-light H2 production

Abstract

Narrow band gap semiconductors have attracted more attention in photocatalytic. It is still a challenge to design heterojunction photocatalysts with efficient visible-light-harvesting and high redox ability water splitting hydrogen fuel production. Herein, a ternary heterojunction of rhombic phase In2O3 (rh-In2O3)/cubic phases In2O3 (c-In2O3) homojunction combined CdIn2S4 (rh/c-IO/CIS) was designed and constructed via in-situ pyrolysis of a liquid precursor. The as-synthesized rh/c-IO/CIS heterojunction exhibits a nanoplate structure composed of multilayers of tightly coupled ultrathin flakelets. The nanoflakelets stacking structure endows abundant exposed active sites and efficient visible-light-harvesting. Experimental results show rh/c-IO/CIS heterojunction follows a S-scheme mechanism proving high charge separation efficiency and strong redox capability. Thus, the catalyst exhibits excellent photocatalytic hydrogen production performance. The hydrogen evolution rate can get 4.7 mmol·g−1·h−1, it is 3.6 folds and 7.8 folds higher than that of CdIn2S4 and rh/c-In2O3. This work provides a new tack for rational design and fabrication of photocatalysts with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen energy production performance.