Defect-induced atomic-level intimate interface of a hollow Ov-CeO2/CdS photocatalyst with a Z-scheme to boost hydrogen evolution

Yajuan Wei; Chongyu Xue; Lin Jin; Junwei Zhang; Zibo Zhao; Lanlan Feng; Jia Liu; Jingbo Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.063

Defect-induced atomic-level intimate interface of a hollow O_v-CeO₂/CdS photocatalyst with a Z-scheme to boost hydrogen evolution

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Sep 15:646:209-218. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.063. Epub 2023 May 13.

Authors

Yajuan Wei¹, Chongyu Xue², Lin Jin², Junwei Zhang², Zibo Zhao², Lanlan Feng², Jia Liu³, Jingbo Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Functional Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Structure and Performance for Functional Molecules, College of Chemistry, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China. Electronic address: yj_wei@tjnu.edu.cn.
² Key Laboratory of Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Functional Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Structure and Performance for Functional Molecules, College of Chemistry, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China.
³ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronics Science, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Functional Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Structure and Performance for Functional Molecules, College of Chemistry, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China. Electronic address: hxxyzjb@tjnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37196494
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.063

Abstract

Construction of Z-scheme heterojunction catalysts with high-speed charge transfer channels for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting is still a challenge. In this work, a lattice-defect-induced atom migration strategy is proposed to construct an intimate interface. The oxygen vacancies of cubic CeO₂ obtained from a Cu₂O template are used to induce lattice oxygen migration and form SO bonds with CdS to form a close contact heterojunction with a hollow cube. The hydrogen production efficiency reaches ∼12.6 mmol·g^-1·h^-1 and maintains a high value over 25 h. A series of photocatalytic tests combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the close contact heterostructure not only promotes the separation/transfer of photogenerated electron-hole pairs but also regulates the intrinsic catalytic activity of the surface. A large number of oxygen vacancies and SO bonds at the interface participate in charge transfer, which accelerates the migration of photogenerated carriers. The hollow structure improves the ability to capture visible light. Therefore, the synthesis strategy proposed in this work, as well as the in-depth discussion of the interface chemical structure and charge transfer mechanism, provides new theoretical support for the further development of photolytic hydrogen evolution catalysts.

Keywords: Atomic-level intimate interface; Defect-induced strategy; Oxygen vacancy; Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution; Z-Scheme CeO(2)/CdS heterojunction.