title: CuGaS2-ZnS p-n nanoheterostructures: a promising visible light photo-catalyst for water-splitting hydrogen production.
abstract: In this work, novel CuGaS2-ZnS p-n type semiconductor nanoheterostructures were synthesized by a solution route, and demonstrated experimentally to be a very promising visible light active photo-catalyst for water-splitting hydrogen production. The construction of CuGaS2-ZnS heterostructures follows a multi-step strategy, employing Cu1.94S nanocrystals first as catalytic assistants for the hetero-growth of ZnS on their surfaces, and then as sacrificial seeds for the formation of CuGaS2. Excitingly, attributed to the efficient charge separation introduced by the p-n heterojunctions, the hydrogen production ability of the CuGaS2-ZnS nanoheterostructures under visible light irradiation is 15 times higher than that of the CuGaS2component, and comparable to that of the CdS nanophase which is currently regarded as one of the most active visible photo-catalysts for hydrogen generation.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China. yswang@fjirsm.ac.cn fengh@fjirsm.ac.cn and College of Materials Science and Engineering, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350007, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Mingshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China. yswang@fjirsm.ac.cn fengh@fjirsm.ac.cn and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China. yswang@fjirsm.ac.cn fengh@fjirsm.ac.cn and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China. yswang@fjirsm.ac.cn fengh@fjirsm.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jiangcong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China. yswang@fjirsm.ac.cn fengh@fjirsm.ac.cn and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ju
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China. yswang@fjirsm.ac.cn fengh@fjirsm.ac.cn and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qingping
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China. yswang@fjirsm.ac.cn fengh@fjirsm.ac.cn and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yuansheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang