Delaminating Ti3C2 MXene by blossom of ZnIn2S4 microflowers for noble-metal-free photocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract

· 2D Ti 3 C 2 /3D ZnIn 2 S 4 composites were prepared via a one-pot solvothermal method. · There's no need to peel off the MXene multilayers before its combination with ZnIn 2 S 4 . · TAA served as both an intercalator of the Ti 3 C 2 MXene and a sulfur source of ZnIn 2 S 4 . · The Ti 3 C 2 /ZnIn 2 S 4 composite performed well in photocatalytic hydrogen production. Herein, a novel strategy was exploited to achieve the delamination of Ti 3 C 2 MXene multilayers into ultrathin flakes by blossom of ZnIn 2 S 4 microflowers via a one-pot solvothermal method. There is no need to peel off the MXene bulk ahead of its combination with the semiconductor. The obtained ZnIn 2 S 4 /Ti 3 C 2 binary composites were applied for visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production without noble metal cocatalyst, and the optimized sample exhibited a hydrogen-production efficiency of 978.7 μmol h − 1 g − 1 with the corresponding apparent quantum efficiency of 24.2% at 420 nm, which was 2.7 times higher than bare ZnIn 2 S 4 . Through the comprehensive analysis based on spectroscopy measurements, electrochemical techniques and energy band theory, such enhancement was mainly attributed to (1) the highly-exposed surface that was beneficial for the adequate exposure of reactive sites and (2) the intimate contact interface that favored the transfer of photogenerated carriers. This study provides a new way of thinking for synthesizing ultrathin MXene-based composite materials for noble-metal-free and highly-efficient photocatalysis applications.