Optimal Architecture of a Dual S-Scheme ZnIn2S4-ZnO-Al2O3 Heterosystem with High H2 Evolution Rate under Visible Light

Irshad Ahmad; Shazia Shukrullah; Humaira Hussain; Muhammad Yasin Naz; Muhammad Irfan; Othman Alyahyawy; Morooj A Al Thagafi

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c02267

Optimal Architecture of a Dual S-Scheme ZnIn₂S₄-ZnO-Al₂O₃ Heterosystem with High H₂ Evolution Rate under Visible Light

ACS Omega. 2023 Jul 10;8(29):26065-26078. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c02267. eCollection 2023 Jul 25.

Authors

Irshad Ahmad¹, Shazia Shukrullah¹, Humaira Hussain², Muhammad Yasin Naz¹, Muhammad Irfan³, Othman Alyahyawy⁴, Morooj A Al Thagafi⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, 38040 Faisalabad, Pakistan.
² Department of Chemistry, University of Okara, 56300 Okara, Pakistan.
³ Electrical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Najran University, 61441 Najran, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ King Abduaziz Hospital, King Abdualziz University, 21589 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ College of Science, Department of Modesty, Jeddah University, 23218 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

In this study, dual S-scheme ZnIn₂S₄-Al₂O₃-ZnO (ZIS-Al-Zn) heterojunctions were produced by a facile, low cost, and rapid combustion technique. These heterojunctions accelerated the photocatalytic hydrogen production due to the multi-channel-promoted separation of photocarriers. By optimizing the content of the components, the synthesized ZIS-Al-Zn composite with 20 wt% of ZnIn₂S₄ and 30 wt% of Al₂O₃ in the ZIS-Al-Zn composite demonstrated the highest hydrogen production rate of 54.2 mmol g^-1 h^-1, which was nearly 11 and 8.30 times better than ZnO-Al₂O₃ and ZnO-ZnIn₂S₄ composites, respectively. The results of DRS, PL, EIS, LSV, and CV techniques showed the highest shift in the light absorption, rapid interfacial transfer, and quenched recombination of photocarriers over the ternary ZIS-Al-Zn composite than single and binary catalysts. The obtained results revealed the formation of a dual S-scheme mechanism of transfer of photocarriers in ZIS-Al-Zn heterojunctions, contributing to better hydrogen production efficiency. The optimized ZIS-Al-Zn composite also exhibited good stability and reusability.