ZnO-dotted porous ZnS cluster microspheres for high efficient, Pt-free photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.
The Pt-free photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE) has been the focus in the photocatalysis field. Here, the ZnO-dotted porous ZnS cluster microsphere (PCMS) is designed for high efficient, Pt-free PHE. The PCMS is designed through an easy "controlling competitive reaction" strategy by selecting the thiourea as S(2-) source and Zn(Ac)₂·2H₂O as Zn source in ethylene glycol medium. Under suitable conditions, one of the PCMS, named PCMS-1, with high SBET specific area of 194 m(2)g(-1), microsphere size of 100 nm and grain size of 3 nm can be obtained. The formation of PCMS is verified by TEM, XAES, XPS, Raman and IR methods. Importantly, a series of the experiments and theoretical calculation demonstrate that the dotting of ZnO not only makes the photo-generated electrons/hole separate efficiently, but also results in the formation of the active catalytic sites for PHE. As a result, the PCMS-1 shows the promising activity up to 367 μmol h(-1) under Pt-free condition. The PHE activity has no obvious change after addition 1 wt.% Pt, implying the presence of active catalytic sites for hydrogen evolution in the PCMS-1. The easy synthesis process, low preparation cost of the PCMS makes their large potential for Pt-free PHE.
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080 (P. R. China).
Aiping
A
Wu
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080 (P. R. China).
Liqiang
L
Jing
Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF), Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, China.
Jianqiang
J
Wang
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080 (P. R. China).
Yang
Y
Qu
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080 (P. R. China).
Ying
Y
Xie
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080 (P. R. China).
Baojiang
B
Jiang
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080 (P. R. China).
Chungui
C
Tian
Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080 (P. R. China).
Honggang
H
Fu