Embedding indium nitride at the interface of indium-oxide/indium-zinc-sulfide heterostructure with enhanced interfacial charge transfer for high photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Enhancing the interfacial charge carriers transfer efficiency is important for designing photocatalysts with excellent hydrogen evolution performance. In this work, we have successfully constructed a In2O3@InN/ZnIn2S4 ternary heterostructure by embedding InN at the interface of thin-layered ZnIn2S4 and tubular In2O3 derived from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) nanorods for the first time. The InN can not only adjust the energy band structure of In2O3, but also boost the photogenerated charge carriers transfer at the interface of In2O3 and ZnIn2S4. The optimum photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of In2O3@InN/ZnIn2S4 composite reaches 275 µmol/h (50 mg of catalyst) under simulated sunlight irradiation, which is obviously higher than pure In2O3 (12.5 times), ZnIn2S4 (2.5 times) and binary In2O3/ZnIn2S4 (1.8 times) photocatalysts. This work can offer a meaningful strategy to promote the interfacial charge separation in the heterostructure for excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity.