ReS2/ZnIn2S4 heterojunctions with enhanced visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution performance for water splitting

Abstract

Abstract Semiconductor photocatalysis technique for water splitting has attracted wide attention due to its potential application for solving energy crisis and environmental pollution. Among various photocatalysts, zinc indium sulfide (ZnIn2S4) exhibits excellent performance due to its suitable band edge position and excellent visible-light absorption. Herein, rhenium disulfide (ReS2)/ZnIn2S4 heterojunctions for water splitting were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The composition of ReS2/ZnIn2S4 was fine-tuned to obtain the optimized hydrogen evolution performance without Pt cocatalysts under visible light irradiation. The results showed that ReS2/ZnIn2S4 heterostructures exhibited a superior photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 1858.6 μmol∙h-1g-1, which was about 2.8 times higher than that of pure ZnIn2S4. The enhanced photocatalytic performance can be attributed to higher light absorption capacity, faster charge transport, low carrier recombination rate and more efficient photogenerated electron/hole separation.