Mo2N decorated hierarchical ZnIn2S4 with sulfur-rich vacancy photocatalyst for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production

The development of photocatalyst is essential for achieving efficient photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production. Therefore, a novel Mo2N (MN) decorated ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) with sulfur-rich vacancy (Sv-ZIS) photocatalyst was rationally constructed via a facile calcining-hydrothermal method for efficient photocatalytic H2 production. The optimized photocatalyst exhibits an outstanding photocatalytic H2 production rate of 10.28 mmol·g−1·h−1, 7.52 and 3.11 times higher than that of bare ZIS and SV-ZnIn2S4 (SV-ZIS), respectively. The characterizations reveal that the presence of MN and S-vacancies improves the light absorption capacity, and facilitates the separation and migration of photogenerated carriers. Density functional theory calculations (DFT) have confirmed that MN can optimize ΔGH* to approach 0, which is favorable for photocatalytic hydrogen production. Therefore, the combined effect of MN and S-vacancies facilitates efficient photocatalytic H2 production of SV-ZIS/MN.