Au NPs@MoS2Sub-Micrometer Sphere-ZnO Nanorod Hybrid Structures for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution with Excellent Stability.
MoS2shows promising applications in photocatalytic water splitting, owing to its uniquely optical and electric properties. However, the insufficient light absorption and lack of performance stability are two crucial issues for efficient application of MoS2nanomaterials. Here, Au nanoparticles (NPs)@MoS2sub-micrometer sphere-ZnO nanorod (Au NPs@MoS2-ZnO) hybrid photocatalysts have been successfully synthesized by a facile process combining the hydrothermal method and seed-growth method. Such photocatalysts exhibit high efficiency and excellent stability for hydrogen production via multiple optical-electrical effects. The introduction of Au NPs to MoS2sub-micrometer spheres forming a core-shell structure demonstrates strong plasmonic absorption enhancement and facilitates exciton separation. The incorporation of ZnO nanorods to the Au NPs@MoS2hybrids further extends the light absorption to a broader wavelength region and enhances the exciton dissociation. In addition, mutual contacts between Au NPs (or ZnO nanorods) and the MoS2spheres effectively protect the MoS2nanosheets from peeling off from the spheres. More importantly, efficiently multiple exciton separations help to restrain the MoS2nanomaterials from photocorrosion. As a result, the Au@MoS2-ZnO hybrid structures exhibit an excellent hydrogen gas evolution (3737.4 μmol g-1) with improved stability (91.9% of activity remaining) after a long-time test (32 h), which is one of the highest photocatalytic activities to date among the MoS2based photocatalysts.
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center for Nano Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University and Shaanxi Joint Lab of Graphene (NPU), Xi'an, 710072, China.
Shaohui
S
Guo
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center for Nano Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University and Shaanxi Joint Lab of Graphene (NPU), Xi'an, 710072, China. lixh32@nwpu.edu.cn.
Xuanhua
X
Li
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center for Nano Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University and Shaanxi Joint Lab of Graphene (NPU), Xi'an, 710072, China.
Jinmeng
J
Zhu
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center for Nano Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University and Shaanxi Joint Lab of Graphene (NPU), Xi'an, 710072, China.
Tengteng
T
Tong
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center for Nano Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University and Shaanxi Joint Lab of Graphene (NPU), Xi'an, 710072, China. weib@udel.edu.|Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA. weib@udel.edu.
Bingqing
B
Wei
MoS2; hybrid structures; photocatalytic hydrogen evolution; photocatalytic stability; plasmonic enhancements