Sulfur Vacancy‐Engineered NiCoB/ZnIn <sub>2</sub> S <sub>4</sub> Schottky Junctions for Synergistic Charge Separation and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
Abstract The strategic design of heterostructured interfaces between semiconductors significantly improves charge carrier mobility, offering a viable pathway to boost hydrogen generation efficiency in photocatalytic systems. In this study, Coulombic interaction‐guided assembly strategy is employed to design a novel composite photocatalyst, which is composed of sulfur vacancy‐engineered ZnIn 2 S 4 (ZnIn 2 S 4 ‐Vs)and NiCoB,NiCoB/ZnIn 2 S 4 ‐Vs. With visible light irradiation, the composite demonstrated H 2 production efficiency of 9352.63 µmol g −1 h −1 , surpassing the efficiencies of ZnIn 2 S 4 ‐Vs and NiCoB counterparts by 6 times and 7 times, respectively. This remarkable rising in photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency arises from three pivotal contributors: 1) The composite material exhibited a 3D flower‐like microsphere morphology, which remarkably boosted the density of active sites; 2) Light reflection and scattering effects induced by the self‐assembled 2D nanosheets constituting the nanoflower architecture effectively enhance the harvesting capability of the composite materials; 3) Schottky heterojunction formed at the interface between NiCoB and ZnIn 2 S 4 ‐Vs facilitates charge carrier separation, thereby elevating photocatalytic activity. This research provided a novel paradigm for developing high‐performance photocatalysts via a tripartite strategy integrating defect engineering, Schottky heterojunction design, and metal catalysis, offering an innovative pathway to optimize charge dynamics and catalytic efficiency.
Authors
- Tiantian Bai
- Zhiliang Jin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5116-6914)
- Qing Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7919-5159)
- Yaoyao Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8897-5284)
- Qin Luo
Institutions
- State Ethnic Affairs Commission (CN)
- North Minzu University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Sustainable Systems
- Published
- 2025-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202500823
- Primary Topic
- Chalcogenide Semiconductor Thin Films
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00