Synergistic effect of morphology regulation of LaNiO3 S-scheme heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract

Constructing unique structures and optimizing the morphology of catalysts are effective strategies to enhance photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity. In this study, LaNiO₃ with diverse morphologies was synthesized through the addition of surfactants and subsequently coupled with ZnCdS for the first time to construct an S-scheme heterojunction. This significantly improved its photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance. Notably, rod-shaped LaNiO₃ demonstrated superior hydrogen evolution performance, which can be attributed to its higher loading capacity, effective suppression of catalyst aggregation, and exposure of more active sites for hydrogen evolution, thus enhancing the overall activity of the photocatalytic reaction. Rod-shaped LaNiO₃ demonstrated superior hydrogen evolution performance, which can be attributed to its higher loading capacity, effective suppression of catalyst aggregation, and exposure to more active sites. The findings indicate that the composite catalyst 15 % rod-shaped LaNiO₃ achieved a hydrogen production rate of 52091 μmol/(g h) in five hours and exhibited an apparent quantum efficiency of 11.16 % at a wavelength of 420 nm. The experimental findings, along with theoretical computations, have validated the formation of a well-regulated topography and S-scheme heterojunction while elucidating the underlying charge transfer mechanism. This study offers valuable perspectives on the morphological regulation of photocatalysts and the logical construction of heterojunctions, providing important theoretical significance and practical value.