ZnIn2S4-based S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst

Photocatalytic technologies have been universally applied in the domains of hydrogen production, environmental purification, CO 2 reduction, catalytic organic synthesis, and other major fields owing to their environmental friendliness, convenient operation, and absorbing sunlight as the driving force. The core of photocatalytic technology is photocatalyst. Hence, it is greatly essential to fabricate stable, high-efficiency, and visible-light response photocatalysts. Among various visible-light-response photocatalysts, ZnIn 2 S 4 , a ternary metal sulfide, has attracted extensive attention due to its prominent advantages of simple synthesis, excellent stability, and appropriate band structure. However, the low utilization of solar energy and rapid recombination of photogenerated charges as same as inferior redox capacity are still the distinct shortcomings that significantly block the increase of photocatalytic efficiency for ZnIn 2 S 4 photocatalyst. Fortunately, the above evident shortcomings can be simultaneously resolved by constructing heterojunctions between ZnIn 2 S 4 with other semiconductors. In recent years, various semiconductor photocatalysts (such as oxides (TiO 2 , WO 3 , In 2 O 3 ), sulfides (ZnS, FeS 2 , CoS), oxysalts (Bi 2 MoO 6 , ZnWO 4 , NaTaO 3 ), organics (g-C 3 N 4 , COF, PDIIM), etc.) have been combined with ZnIn 2 S 4 to construct ZnIn 2 S 4 -based S-scheme heterojunctions with the aim at greatly increasing its photocatalytic efficiency. Herein, this review presents a systematic description of the currently popular ZnIn 2 S 4 -based S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst, which includes the research background, scientific mechanism, design principles, preparation strategies, and characterization methods of ZnIn 2 S 4 -based S-scheme heterojunctions. Moreover, the extensive photocatalytic applications of ZnIn 2 S 4 -based S-scheme heterojunctions have been detailly described by classification examples, including hydrogen production, CO 2 reduction, environmental purification, and other applications. Finally, several drawbacks on the synthetizations, modifications, and applications of ZnIn 2 S 4 based S-scheme heterojunction have been proposed, and their corresponding prospects have also been propounded in terms of their future development.& COPY; 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Automated summary

Photocatalytic technologies have been widely applied in hydrogen production, environmental purification, CO2 reduction, catalytic organic synthesis, and other fields due to their environmental friendliness and convenient operation. ZnIn2S4 photocatalyst, a ternary metal sulfide, has attracted attention for its simple synthesis, excellent stability, and appropriate band structure. However, its low solar energy utilization and rapid recombination of photogenerated charges hinder its photocatalytic efficiency. By constructing heterojunctions with other semiconductors, the above shortcomings can be overcome. This review presents a systematic description of ZnIn2S4-based S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts, including their research background, scientific mechanism, design principles, preparation strategies, and characterization methods. The extensive applications in hydrogen production, CO2 reduction, environmental purification, and other fields are also discussed. Several drawbacks and prospects for the future development of ZnIn2S4-based S-scheme heterojunctions are proposed.