In situ Mo-doped ZnIn2S4/Ni–Ni Hofmann-type coordination polymer composites for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction

Solar energy–assisted hydrogen production technology is an essential tool for exploring hydrogen energy. To date, semiconductors have been used as the primary photocatalyst to generate hydrogen via photocatalytic water splitting. However, the high photogenerated electron–hole recombination rate of semiconductor photocatalysts results in a low hydrogen production rate. Herein, the synergistic effect of Mo–ion doping and the incorporation of Ni–based Hofmann–type coordination polymer (Ni–Ni HCP) on the photocatalytic performance of ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) is investigated. The hydrogen production rate of the prepared in-situ Mo doped ZnIn2S4 wrapped Ni-Ni HCP (Ni–Ni HCP/Mo–ZIS) sample under visible-light irradiation is 26.7 mmol g−1 h−1, which is 10 times that of pure ZIS. Hydrogen production rate test, microscopic characterization, and density functional theory calculation confirm that the proposed dual modulation approach (combined ion doping and heterogeneous structure construction) could effectively increase the photocatalytic efficiency of ZIS. The stability of prepared samples is also examined by four–cycle photocatalytic hydrogen production tests. The proposed integrated method opens a new route for advancing renewable energy technology towards a sustainable future.