Infrared light dual excitation of Ni-phytate-sensitized ZnIn2S4 with sulfur vacancies for enhanced NIR-driven photocatalysis

Abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) light accounts for about half of the solar spectrum, and the effective utilization of low-energy NIR light is an important but challenging task in the field of photocatalysis. Molecular semiconductor photocatalytic systems (MSPSs) are highly tunable, available and stable, and are considered to be one of the most promising ways to achieve efficient NIR hydrogen production. Here, we demonstrate efficient dual-excitation in MSPS consisting of ZnIn₂S_4−x (ZIS_1−x) with sulfur vacancies and phytic acid nickel (PA-Ni), which differs from other NIR-responsive photosensitized systems. The system achieves a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of 119.85 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹ at λ > 800 nm illumination, which is an excellent performance among all reported NIR catalysts and even outperforms the noble metal catalysts when compared to the reported literature. The superior activity is attributed to the unique charge dynamics and higher carrier concentration of the system. This work demonstrates the potential of dual-excitation systems for efficient utilization of low-energy NIR light.