acscatal.0c05520.pdf

A hierarchical hollow tubular In₂O₃/ZnIn₂S₄ heterostructure was rationally designed by growing thin-layered ZnIn₂S₄ on the surface of carbon-coated hollow tubular In₂O₃ (C/HT-In₂O₃) that was derived from In-MOF as a photocatalyst for the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE) reaction. The fast interfacial charge transfer and significantly enhanced PHE activity could be ascribed to the narrowed band gap of C/HT-In₂O₃ and the inclined formation of the staggered heterostructure between C/HT-In₂O₃ and ZnIn₂S₄. The former was caused by the coordinated In–N–In sites as revealed by EXAFS analysis, while the latter was proved by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Additionally, the high electronic conduction of carbon for bridging charge separation from C/HT-In₂O₃ to ZnIn₂S₄ further accelerated the protonation process. It was found that the optimum H₂ evolution rate reached 920.5 μmol/m² when the mass proportion of counterparts was set at 1:2, about 13.2 and 6.6 times higher than that of pristine C/HT-In₂O₃ and ZnIn₂S₄, respectively. This work demonstrated the feasibility of establishing coordinated In–N–In sites in the interface of the carbon-coated HT-In₂O₃/ZnIn₂S₄ heterostructure for boosting charge transfer and introduced an ideal light-activated catalyst for PHE reactions from water.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.0c05520

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/yWkUtGdKmnrUKrO4H3qD4w