Delaminating Ti3C2 MXene by blossom of ZnIn2S4 microflowers for noble-metal-free photocatalytic hydrogen production

Herein,a novel strategy was exploited to achieve the delamination of TiCMXene multilayers into ultrathin flakes by blossom of ZnInSmicroflowers via a one-pot solvothermal method.There is no need to peel off the MXene bulk ahead of its combination with the semiconductor.The obtained ZnInS/TiCbinary composites were applied for visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production without noble metal cocatalyst,and the optimized sample exhibited a hydrogen-production efficiency of 978.7 μmol hgwith the corresponding apparent quantum efficiency of 24.2% at 420 nm,which was 2.7 times higher than bare ZnInS.Through the comprehensive analysis based on spectroscopy measurements,electrochemical techniques and energy band theory,such enhancement was mainly attributed to(1) the highly-exposed surface that was beneficial for the adequate exposure of reactive sites and(2)the intimate contact interface that favored the transfer of photogenerated carriers.This study provides a new way of thinking for synthesizing ultrathin MXene-based composite materials for noble-metal-free and highly-efficient photocatalysis applications.