Abstract
Metal sulfides-based nanomaterials have been used as a class of efficient solar driven photocatalysts. However, the H2-production rate observed over these photocatalysts remains problematic. Here, the AgInS2-xAg2S-yZnS-zIn6S7 (x, y, z = 0 or 1) nanocomposites with controlled compositions have been successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal method with AgI polyhedrons as silver source. The obtained AgInS2-xAg2S-yZnS-zIn6S7 nanocomposites showed a composition-dependent activity for H2 evolution from aqueous solution under simulated sun-light irradiation. The results showed that the optimized product of AgInS2-Ag2S-ZnS nanoparticles synthesized with the precursor ratio of Ag:Zn = 1:1 exhibited the highest H2 evolution rate of 5.4 mmol·g−1·h−1. Furthermore, the catalyst can be used for 20 h without loss of activity, showing its high stability. It opens a new path to achieve highly efficient solar photocatalyst for H2 evolution from water splitting.
Highlights
Two major kinds of photocatalysts in terms of composition are mainly used to drive solar water-splitting [1]
In order to obtain an optimized efficient solar photocatalyst for H2 production, the multi-component nanocomposites were synthesized at various molar ratios of Ag2 S-ZnS-In6 S7 (Ag)+ to Zn2+ ions
Compared with tetragonal AgInS2, the orthorhombic AgInS2 is usually crystallized at high temperature
Summary
Two major kinds of photocatalysts in terms of composition are mainly used to drive solar water-splitting [1]. The other is multi-component composite made of different photo-absorbers with the matched band alignments to split water. The bandgap of these materials should be relatively narrow, which can efficiently favor the absorption of solar light [2,3,4]. Materials 2016, 9, 329 and unique optical and electronic properties, i.e., enlarged absorption region of the solar spectrum, facilitated charge transportation without increasing the rate of charge recombination, and enhanced charge collection efficiency [6,7] These excellent properties make optoelectronic composites potential candidates for application in the fields of photocatalysis.
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