Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Evolution over ZnIn2S4 Flower-Like Microspheres Doped with Black Phosphorus Quantum Dots

Xiaoying Pan; Chaoqun Shang; Zhihong Chen; Mingliang Jin; Yongguang Zhang; Zhang Zhang; Xin Wang; Guofu Zhou

doi:10.3390/nano9091266

Enhanced Photocatalytic H₂ Evolution over ZnIn₂S₄ Flower-Like Microspheres Doped with Black Phosphorus Quantum Dots

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2019 Sep 5;9(9):1266. doi: 10.3390/nano9091266.

Authors

Xiaoying Pan¹, Chaoqun Shang¹, Zhihong Chen^{2

3}, Mingliang Jin^{1

4}, Yongguang Zhang⁴, Zhang Zhang^{1

4}, Xin Wang^{5

6}, Guofu Zhou^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, Zhaoqing 526000, China. chenzhihong1227@sina.com.
³ Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China. chenzhihong1227@sina.com.
⁴ International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, Zhaoqing 526000, China.
⁵ National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China. wangxin@scnu.edu.cn.
⁶ International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, Zhaoqing 526000, China. wangxin@scnu.edu.cn.

Abstract

In this work, black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) were decorated on hexagonal ZnIn₂S₄ flower-like microspheres to form zero-dimensional/two-dimensional (0D/2D) structures. Interface interactions between the BPQDs and ZnIn₂S₄ resulted in optimum effective charge transfer, thereby improving the photocatalytic performance of the material. Thus, the 0.2% BPQD-ZnIn₂S₄ sample showed 30% higher H₂ evolution rates compared to pure ZnIn₂S₄. This study provides a simple route for the synthesis of photocatalysts. The results obtained herein can pave the way for designing effective catalysts for solar-to-chemical energy conversion and feasible approaches to obtain cheap, clean, and efficient photocatalysts.

Keywords: ZnIn2S4; black phosphorus quantum dots; hydrogen production; photocatalyst.

Abstract

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