Abstract
The band gap controlled photocatalyst (Zn0.74Cu0.13In2S3.805) was prepared via a simple one-step solvothermal method. The effects of doping of Cu+ and excess In on the photocatalytic activity of ZnIn2S4 photocatalyst were investigated. In addition, optical properties, surface morphology and crystal structure were evaluated. The maximum H2 evolution rate (2370 µmol h−1 g−1) was achieved with Zn0.74Cu0.13In2S3.805, which was about five times higher than that of untreated ZnIn2S4 under visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm). The band gap of Zn0.74Cu0.13In2S3.805 decreased to 1.98 eV by raising the maximum position of the valence band, compared to ZnIn2S4. Furthermore, the recombination of electron hole pairs was effectively reduced. This research contributes to the development of highly active photocatalysts under visible light.
Highlights
Hydrogen is one of the more demanded synthetic energy carriers
The size of the band gap formed by the conduction band (CB) and the valence band (VB) of the semiconductor photocatalyst is the most important issue [17,18,19]
We investigated photocatalytic activity, optical properties and surface morphology of Discussion
Summary
Hydrogen is one of the more demanded synthetic energy carriers. Until now, hydrogen can be produced chemically, thermochemically, biologically, biochemically, biophotochemically, etc. [1,2,3,4].Among these techniques, hydrogen generation by water splitting using a photocatalyst has been expected as a clean and sustainable energy technology, because it can directly convert solar energy into chemical energy by using only water as a raw material [5,6,7]. It is important to develop highly efficient photocatalysts to replace the current hydrogen generation technology with the photocatalytic water splitting process. Specific requirements to improve the activity of the photocatalytic material generally include efficient light absorption, effective separation of photogenerated charge carriers, and better efficiency of the interface for direct release of hydrogen and/or oxygen from water [14,15,16]. The size of the band gap formed by the conduction band (CB) and the valence band (VB) of the semiconductor photocatalyst is the most important issue [17,18,19]
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