Photothermocatalytic water splitting over Pt/ZnIn2S4 for hydrogen production without external heat

Development of robust catalysts and process for hydrogen production via sunlight induced water splitting is highly desirable in the current context of carbon neutralization. Herein, multifunctional indium zinc sulphide (or ZnIn2S4) supported Pt nanoparticles (NP) is facilely developed for photocatalytic and photothermocatalytic H2O splitting reaction under full spectrum light illumination. The infrared photothermal effect and plasmon thermal effect during the reaction induce the temperature rise up to ~ 45 °C on the Pt/ZnIn2S4 surface, create a photothermal catalysis environment without external heat, and accelerate the photogenerated charges transfer, separation, and redox reactions. Photothermal synergistic catalytic hydrogen production with a H2 evolution rate of 19.4 mmol/g/h is obtained over 1 wt.% Pt/ZnIn2S4, which is more than twice higher than the conventional photocatalytic process. Such a work provides an important implication into the development of multifunctional photothermal catalysts for the green hydrogen production from water and solar energy.