Highly efficient flower-like ZnIn2S4/CoFe2O4 photocatalyst with p-n type heterojunction for enhanced hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation

Xue Jiang; Dong Fan; Xintong Yao; Ziyou Dong; Xinyu Li; Shanshan Ma; Junchang Liu; Dafeng Zhang; Hengshuai Li; Xipeng Pu; Peiqing Cai

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.055

Highly efficient flower-like ZnIn₂S₄/CoFe₂O₄ photocatalyst with p-n type heterojunction for enhanced hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Jul:641:26-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.055. Epub 2023 Mar 11.

Authors

Xue Jiang¹, Dong Fan², Xintong Yao¹, Ziyou Dong¹, Xinyu Li¹, Shanshan Ma¹, Junchang Liu¹, Dafeng Zhang³, Hengshuai Li⁴, Xipeng Pu⁵, Peiqing Cai⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Energy Storage and Novel Cell Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, PR China.
² School of Physics Science and Information Technology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Science and Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, PR China.
³ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Energy Storage and Novel Cell Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, PR China. Electronic address: dafengzh@hotmail.com.
⁴ School of Physics Science and Information Technology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Science and Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, PR China. Electronic address: lihengshuai@lcu.edu.cn.
⁵ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Energy Storage and Novel Cell Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, PR China. Electronic address: xipengpu@hotmail.com.
⁶ College of Optical and Electronic Technology, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, PR China.

PMID: 36924543
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.055

Abstract

The construction of a p-n heterojunction structure is considered to be an effective method to improve the separation of electron-hole pairs in photocatalysts. A series of ZnIn₂S₄/CoFe₂O₄ (ZIS/CFO) photocatalysts with p-n heterojunctions were prepared via a method involving ultrasonication and calcination. The synthesized photocatalysts were tested and analyzed via various testing techniques, and their hydrogen evolution rates were evaluated. Compared with pure ZIS, ZIS/CFO with different mass ratios of CFO to ZIS showed improved photocatalytic hydrogen production performance, and the optimal photoactivity showed a nearly 12-fold increase, which can be attributed to the formation of p-n junctions and the formed internal electric field, accelerating the separation of electron-hole pairs and effectively improving the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate. The excellent stability of the ZIS/CFO composite was proven by three cycle experiments. In addition, the ZIS/CFO composite also possessed excellent magnetic properties to realize facial magnetic recoverability. This work paves the way for the design and preparation of magnetically recoverable p-n heterojunction photocatalysts.

Keywords: H(2) evolution; Magnetic recovery; Visible light; ZnIn(2)S(4)/CoFe(2)O(4); p-n heterojunction.