Hierarchical Architectured Ternary Nanostructures Photocatalysts with In(OH)₃ Nanocube on ZnIn₂S₄/NiS Nanosheets for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Charge carriers separation and surface catalytic reactions are two crucial steps in photocatalytic processes; the rational design of photocatalysts by taking these two factors into consideration is thus of great importance to advance the associated performance. Herein, a self-sacrificial strategy is developed to fabricate a ternary nanostructure photocatalyst, forming a hierarchical architecture of In(OH)₃ nanocube decorated NiS-ZnIn₂S₄ (ZIS) hybrid nanosheets (ZIS/In(OH)₃-NiS). Such a unique structure provides the hybrid photocatalyst with a facilitated path for efficiently separating the charge carrier and abundant sites for catalytic reactions. Systematic characterizations that reveal the strong electronic interactions in the ternary ZIS/In(OH)₃-NiS leads to fast electron transfer from excited ZnIn₂S₄ to NiS nanosheets, which provide catalytic sites for hydrogen evolution reaction. The comprehensive photocatalysis studies demonstrate that ZnIn₂S₄/In(OH)₃-NiS exhibits ultrahigh photocatalytic activity toward hydrogen generation with a high rate of 7010 μmol g⁻¹h⁻¹, which ranks as one of the highest among ZnIn₂S₄-based photocatalysts reported so far. This work provides an attractive and effective way to develop high-activity photocatalysts without using precious metal cocatalysts. The investigation brings us one step closer to understanding the structure-determining properties of nanohybrid architecture, and provides a valuable reference to develop cost-effective and practical photocatalysts for a variety of applications.