Hierarchical ZnIn2 S4 /MoSe2 Nanoarchitectures for Efficient Noble-Metal-Free Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution under Visible Light.

Abstract

A highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalyst is urgently necessary for photocatalytic hydrogen generation through water splitting. Herein, ZnIn2 S4 hierarchical architectures assembled as ultrathin nanosheets were synthesized by a facile one-pot polyol approach. Subsequently, the two-dimensional-network-like MoSe2 was successfully hybridized with ZnIn2 S4 by taking advantage of their analogous intrinsic layered morphologies. The noble-metal-free ZnIn2 S4 /MoSe2 heterostructures show enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution compared to pure ZnIn2 S4 . It is noteworthy that the optimum nanocomposite of ZnIn2 S4 /2 % MoSe2 photocatalyst displays a high H2 generation rate of 2228 μmol g-1 h-1 and an apparent quantum yield (AQY) of 21.39 % at 420 nm. This study presents an unprecedented ZnIn2 S4 /MoSe2 metal-sulfide-metal-selenide hybrid system for H2 evolution. Importantly, the present efficient hybridization strategy reveals the potential of hierarchical nanoarchitectures for a multitude of energy storage and solar energy conversion applications.