title: Noble-Metal-Free Janus-like Structures by Cation Exchange for Z-Scheme Photocatalytic Water Splitting under Broadband Light Irradiation.
abstract: Z-scheme water splitting is a promising approach based on high-performance photocatalysis by harvesting broadband solar energy. Its efficiency depends on the well-defined interfaces between two semiconductors for the charge kinetics and their exposed surfaces for chemical reactions. Herein, we report a facile cation-exchange approach to obtain compounds with both properties without the need for noble metals by forming Janus-like structures consisting of γ-MnS and Cu7S4with high-quality interfaces. The Janus-like γ-MnS/Cu7S4structures displayed dramatically enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production rates of up to 718 μmol g-1h-1under full-spectrum irradiation. Upon further integration with an MnOxoxygen-evolution cocatalyst, overall water splitting was accomplished with the Janus structures. This work provides insight into the surface and interface design of hybrid photocatalysts, and offers a noble-metal-free approach to broadband photocatalytic hydrogen production.
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), School of Chemistry and Materials Science and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qichen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), School of Chemistry and Materials Science and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), School of Chemistry and Materials Science and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), School of Chemistry and Materials Science and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), School of Chemistry and Materials Science and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Huanxin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), School of Chemistry and Materials Science and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), School of Chemistry and Materials Science and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), School of Chemistry and Materials Science and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Junfa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), School of Chemistry and Materials Science and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yujie
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1995-8257
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiong
keywords: Janus structures; Z-scheme; cation exchange; photocatalysis; water splitting