Defect-engineered WOx/ZnIn2S4 Z-scheme heterojunction boosting photocatalytic H2 production via photothermal coupling

Recent interest in photocatalytic water splitting has intensified the demand in the development of photocatalysts capable of harnessing the full solar-spectrum. This study introduces a novel WOx/ZnIn2S4 Zscheme heterojunction, prepared by depositing ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) nanosheets onto WOx nanorods, enabling efficient photothermal-coupled photocatalytic H2 evolution. The success relies on the engineered oxygen vacancies within WOx nanorods, which not only confer excellent photothermal properties lowering the reaction barrier but also create defect levels in WOx facilitating Z-scheme electron transfer from these levels to the valence band of ZIS. Consequently, the optimized WOx/ZIS heterojunction exhibits a remarkable H2 evolution rate of 33.91 mmol h -1 g -1 with an apparent quantum efficiency of 23.6% at 400 nm. This study provides a new strategy for developing efficient Z-scheme heterojunctions with broadspectrum solar hydrogen production capabilities.<br /> (c) 2024 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.