Development of Various Metal Sulfide Photocatalysts Consisting of d0, d5, and d10 Metal Ions for Sacrificial H2 Evolution under Visible Light Irradiation

We have developed metal sulfide photocatalysts with various crystal structures and constituent metal cations with d(0), d(5), and d(10) electron configurations. Cu3VS4, Cu3NbS4, and Cu3TaS4 with a sulvanite structure, ZnGaxIn2-xS4 (x = 0-0.6), and MnGaInS4 with layered structures, BaLaCuS3 with a one-dimensionally anisotropic structure along the b-axis, and a (ZnS)(0.9)-(CuCl)(0.1) solid solution with a zinc blende structure have arisen as new photocatalysts for H-2 evolution in the presence of sacrificial electron donors under visible light irradiation.