Enhanced interfacial electric field via sulfur vacancies modified ZnIn2S4-Vs@NiIn2S4 S-scheme photocatalysts for simultaneous H2 evolution and benzyl alcohol oxidation

• Published in: Separation and purification technology Vol. 356; p. 129832
• Main Authors: Wu, Maoquan, Yang, Yang, Ma, Shouchun, Guo, Xu, Yu, Haochen, Cao, Yaodan, Wu, Jie, Liu, Li, Yao, Tongjie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.04.2025
• Subjects: Aromatic alcohol oxidation; Photocatalytic H2 production; S-scheme heterojunction; Sulfur vacancies; ZnIn2S4; Photocatalytic H2 production; Sulfur vacancies; Aromatic alcohol oxidation; ZnIn2S4; S-scheme heterojunction
• ISSN: 1383-5866
• DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2024.129832

A well-design effectively dual-functional S-scheme ZnIn2S4-Vs@NiIn2S4 heterojunction was successfully constructed for simultaneous photocatalytic H2 production coupled with BA oxidative dehydrogenation. Benefiting to the synergistic effect of sulfur vacancies and S-scheme heterojunction construction, the S-scheme ZIS-Vs@NIS heterojunction can significantly promote the photocatalytic performance. As anticipated, the optimal photocatalyst ZIS-Vs@NIS exhibited an impressive photocatalytic performance with H2 and BAD under the simulated solar-light irradiation, which are approximately 13.3 and 11.8 times as high as those over pristine ZIS, respectively. [Display omitted] •A SVs-modified ZnIn2S4-Vs@NiIn2S4 heterojunction was constructed.•ZnIn2S4-Vs@NiIn2S4 shows superior S-scheme charge transfer and separation effciency.•SVs results in a larger interface potential difference and stronger IEF.•Synchronous production of H2 and benzaldehyde performance was greated enhanced.•The enhancement is due to the synergistic effect of SVs and heterojunction engineering. Designing and developing efficient photocatalysts for H2 evolution and simultaneous oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BA) in aqueous environments provides a cutting-edge strategy for green synthesis. Nevertheless, the photocatalysts suffer from the low photoconversion efficiency because of the sluggish dynamics and repaid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, which hindering their widespread applications. To address the limitation, a multifunctionnal sulfur vacancies (SVs) modified ZIS-Vs@NIS S-scheme heterojunction with a strong interfacial electric field effect was synthesized to use photocatalytic H2 production and BA oxidation, simultaneously. Experimental analysis supports that the synergistic effect of SVs and S-scheme heterojunction engineering result in a suitable energy band structure alignment and larger Fermi level potential difference. Those factors can realize effective charge transfer and separation, and enhance the photocatalytic performance. As anticipated, ZIS-Vs@NIS exhibited a superior photocatalytic performance with H2 and benzaldehyde (BAD) yields up to 168.1 and 146.1 μmol under the simulated solar-light irradiation for 1.0 h, respectively, which are approximately 13.3 and 11.8 times higher than pristine ZIS. Moreover, the photocatalytic H2 evolution coupled with BA oxidative dehydrogenation mechanism via S-scheme heterojunction over ZIS-Vs@NIS is also demonstrated in detail.