Tuning the thickness of 3D inverse opal ZnO/ZnS heterojunction promotes excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. (1st May 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Huo, Chen; Wang, Tingwei; Yin, Zhengliang; Xu, Xinyang; He, Jie; Cao, Shunsheng
• Is Part Of: Ceramics international. Volume 49(2023)Part A
• Page Start: 14673
• Page End: 14680
• Publication Date: 2023-05-01
• Subjects: ZnO/ZnS heterojunction -- Inverse opal structure -- Pure water splitting -- Hydrogen evolution -- Z-scheme heterojunction; Ceramics -- Periodicals; Céramique industrielle -- Périodiques; Ceramics; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 666
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2023.01.059
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0272-8842

Abstract

Abstract: How to promote the solar conversion efficiency of photoelectrochemical water splitting still remains a big challenge. In this work, we design a new 3D inverse opal ZnO/ZnS (IO–ZnO/ZnS) heterojunction by coupling polystyrene-templating with in-situ sulfidation. Thanks to 3D inverse opal structure and Z-scheme mechanism, the IO-ZnO/ZnS photocatalyst shows excellent photocurrent density (0.12 mA cm −2 ) and H2 evolution rate (101.40 μmol/g/h) without any sacrificial agent, which is among the comparable values with the reported ZnO–ZnS based photocatalysts. Clearly, its unique interconnected pore structures offer abundant photocatalytic active sites and improved light utilization due to multiple light reflections. And, Z-scheme heterojunction facilitates the effective electron-hole separation, greatly driving hydrogen evolution. Notably, the thickness (1–7.5 μm) of IO-ZnO/ZnS is easy to be controlled by simply tailoring the initial concentration of polystyrene template, obtaining the optimally photocatalytic performance of IO-ZnO/ZnS. Therefore, this design concept can be expanded to construct other composite photoanode materials for energy storage and conversion application. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: 3D Inverse Opal ZnO/ZnS heterojunction was prepared by combining polystyrene-templating with in-situ sulfidation process. The thickness of IO-ZnO/ZnS was easy to be controlled by tailoring the initial concentration of polystyrene template. IO-ZnO/ZnS showed excellent photocurrent density and H2 evolution rate without sacrificial agent. The photocatalytic mechanism of efficient hydrogen evolution was proposed.