In₂S₃ nanosheets growing on sheet-like g-C₃N₄ as high-performance photocatalyst for H₂ evolution under visible light

As a potential environmental pollution control and clean energy synthesis technology, photocatalysis has attracted enormous attention of scientists, researchers, and innovators. However, conventional photocatalysts have encountered a lot of issues in solar light utilization and photocatalytic capability. Here, we proposed a solution by decorating narrow-bandgap In₂S₃ nanosheets on sheet-like g-C₃N₄ to form a Z-schemed photocatalyst to realize visible light utilization without sacrificing its photocatalytic capability. The composite was used to split water under visible light. Our results show that such a Z-schemed photocatalyst has excellent photocatalytic activity in H₂ evolution, which exhibited an H₂ generation rate up to 307 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ under 300 W Xe lamp illustration. The favorable performance benefits from the effective solar light absorption by the narrow-bandgap components, In₂S₃ and g-C₃N₄. The unique photocarriers transfer behavior in such a Z-scheme structure will respond to its high photocatalytic capability. The work finds new ideas to achieve high-performance photocatalysts by rationally designing their material architecture and energy band structure.