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

Abstract

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, MnPS3 suffered from the lower photocatalytic activity caused by its high electron-hole recombination rate and poor oxidation capability of holes. In this paper, the MnPS3 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 MnPS3–Cs4W11O35 composites were prepared by a facile electrostatic assembling approach. The exfoliated MnPS3 nanosheets with the thickness of 5.4 nm present evidently increased interlayer spacing of 17.6 Å compared with 6.42 Å of bulk MnPS3. The Cs4W11O35 of 20–25 nm are uniformly immobilized on the surface of 400 nm exfoliated MnPS3 sheets with strong interfacial interaction of S–W–O bonds. The MnPS3–Cs4W11O35 composites show extended light absorption area, reduced charge recombination and significantly improved hydrogen generation activity compared with MnPS3 nanosheets. The highest hydrogen evolution rate of the MnPS3–Cs4W11O35 composites reaches 99.6 μmol g−1 h−1 with a Cs4W11O35 mass percent of 10.9, which is 2.9 times of MnPS3 nanosheets. The photocatalytic activity of MnPS3–Cs4W11O35 remains nearly unchanged after 4 cycles. As far as we are aware, there is no work carried out on the exfoliation of MnPS3 sheets in NMP and the fabrication of MnPS3–Cs4W11O35 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 MnPS3-based composite will be a useful supplement to the photocatalytic production of clean energy.