Recent advances in non-metal doped ZnS nanostructures for photocatalytic hydrogen production

Photocatalytic hydrogen production is a sustainable approach to addressing energy and environmental issues, with ZnS being a prominent photocatalyst due to its efficiency, stability, and affordability. However, its wide bandgap and quick carrier recombination hinder its performance. Non-metal doping, particularly with nitrogen and carbon, has been shown to enhance electronic structure, light absorption, and charge separation of ZnS, thus improving its photocatalytic activity. This review highlights the advancements in nitrogen-doped, carbon-doped, and carbon-nitrogen co-doped ZnS, emphasizing nitrogen's significant impact on bandgap reduction and charge transfer, and carbon's role in promoting heterojunctions and active sites. Co-doping further amplifies these effects, leading to superior photocatalytic performance. The review also discusses performance variations among catalysts, the effects of synthesis methods and reaction conditions, and the role of auxiliary agents. Future research should concentrate on comparing doping methods, optimizing synthesis, and exploring phase-dependent activities to maximize the potential of ZnS-based photocatalysts. This work highlights the benefits of non-metal doped ZnS in hydrogen production and outlines key challenges and future research directions in the field.