Constructing core–shell phosphorus doped MnCo2O4.5@ZIS for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting

Abstract

Rational construction of core@shell heterostructured photocatalysts is the key to realize efficient hydrogen production from water splitting attributing to the accelerated photoinduced charges separation/transfer and enhanced light absorption ability. In this work, two-dimensional (2D) ZnIn₂S₄ (ZIS) nanosheets were in-situ grown on phosphorus doped MnCo₂O_4.5 (P-MnCo₂O_4.5) nanospheres to construct P-MnCo₂O_4.5@ZIS heterostructured photocatalysts for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production. The optimized 6 wt% P-MnCo₂O_4.5@ZIS composite presents remarkable photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 4197 µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ (8 times of single ZIS) along with excellent cycling stability, which is comparable to most previous reported ZnIn₂S₄-based or even noble-metal involved catalysts. The improved photocatalytic performance is resulted from the distinguished heterostructure and components of P-MnCo₂O_4.5@ZIS, in which the close contact interface facilitates the separation/transfer and inhibits the recombination of charges, and the uniform distribution of ZIS nanosheets on P-MnCo₂O_4.5 increases the active sites and fortifies the light absorption. The present work comes up with a prospective method for establishing core@shell ZIS-based heterostructured photocatalysts for efficient hydrogen generation.