Synergy of photothermal effect and up-converted property of phytic acid nickel for boosted photothermal-assisted NIR-driven photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

A huge challenge in the field of photocatalysis is the efficient utilization of near-infrared (NIR) light, which accounts for the vast majority of solar spectrum (∼53%). Herein, phytic acid nickel (PA-Ni) nanoparticles were anchored on ZnIn2S4 nanosheets to form PA-Ni/ZnIn2S4 (PA-Ni/ZIS) composite by a simple water bath method for achieving photothermal-assisted photocatalytic H2 evolution under NIR irradiation. In this photothermal-assisted catalyst design system, the photothermal effect and up-conversion characteristics of the PA-Ni complex increased the temperature of the reaction system, promoted the separation and migration of ZIS photogenerated carrier charges, and expand the NIR photo-absorption of ZIS. Meanwhile, the unique sandwich structure formed by ZIS micro-flowers with PA-Ni nanoparticles further increased the temperature of the composite for endowing the excellent NIR-driven photocatalytic H2 activity with the hydrogen production rate of 33.02 μmol g-1h−1. Our work provides a viable design strategy for realizing photothermal-assisted NIR photocatalytic H2 production.