Preparation and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of Pink ZnS

With the continuous growth of global energy demand and the increasingly severe environmental issues, the extensive utilization of traditional fossil fuels has led to serious energy crises and environmental pollution problems. In this study, a hydrothermal method was employed, and by adding ethanolam...

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Main Authors: Shangjie Gao, Yongxin Lu, Teng Ma, Haixia Liu, Jie Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Inorganics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/13/5/166
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author Shangjie Gao
Yongxin Lu
Teng Ma
Haixia Liu
Jie Zhang
author_facet Shangjie Gao
Yongxin Lu
Teng Ma
Haixia Liu
Jie Zhang
author_sort Shangjie Gao
collection DOAJ
description With the continuous growth of global energy demand and the increasingly severe environmental issues, the extensive utilization of traditional fossil fuels has led to serious energy crises and environmental pollution problems. In this study, a hydrothermal method was employed, and by adding ethanolamine and controlling different temperatures, pink zinc sulfide with zinc vacancies was synthesized. UV-Vis DRS analysis indicated that the sample exhibited significant visible light absorption characteristics within the wavelength range of 500–550 nm. The presence of zinc vacancies was confirmed through XPS. Due to the existence of zinc vacancies, the sample demonstrated excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity without the need for co-catalysts, with the optimal sample achieving a hydrogen evolution rate of 7631.70 μmol h<sup>−1</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>. Zinc vacancies can provide additional active sites, enhance catalytic efficiency, and promote the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. Furthermore, the introduction of vacancies effectively reduces the bandgap of the material, significantly broadening its visible light absorption range. This work provides a new approach for enhancing hydrogen evolution in pure ZnS and offers novel strategies for the further design of ZnS-related photocatalysts.
format Article
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institution DOAJ
issn 2304-6740
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publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
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series Inorganics
spelling doaj-art-ae71a8ee3300467fb5ccfd31a6491be82025-08-20T03:14:41ZengMDPI AGInorganics2304-67402025-05-0113516610.3390/inorganics13050166Preparation and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of Pink ZnSShangjie Gao0Yongxin Lu1Teng Ma2Haixia Liu3Jie Zhang4Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, ChinaWith the continuous growth of global energy demand and the increasingly severe environmental issues, the extensive utilization of traditional fossil fuels has led to serious energy crises and environmental pollution problems. In this study, a hydrothermal method was employed, and by adding ethanolamine and controlling different temperatures, pink zinc sulfide with zinc vacancies was synthesized. UV-Vis DRS analysis indicated that the sample exhibited significant visible light absorption characteristics within the wavelength range of 500–550 nm. The presence of zinc vacancies was confirmed through XPS. Due to the existence of zinc vacancies, the sample demonstrated excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity without the need for co-catalysts, with the optimal sample achieving a hydrogen evolution rate of 7631.70 μmol h<sup>−1</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>. Zinc vacancies can provide additional active sites, enhance catalytic efficiency, and promote the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. Furthermore, the introduction of vacancies effectively reduces the bandgap of the material, significantly broadening its visible light absorption range. This work provides a new approach for enhancing hydrogen evolution in pure ZnS and offers novel strategies for the further design of ZnS-related photocatalysts.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/13/5/166pink ZnSvacancytemperaturephotocatalytic hydrogen evolution
spellingShingle Shangjie Gao
Yongxin Lu
Teng Ma
Haixia Liu
Jie Zhang
Preparation and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of Pink ZnS
Inorganics
pink ZnS
vacancy
temperature
photocatalytic hydrogen evolution
title Preparation and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of Pink ZnS
title_full Preparation and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of Pink ZnS
title_fullStr Preparation and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of Pink ZnS
title_full_unstemmed Preparation and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of Pink ZnS
title_short Preparation and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of Pink ZnS
title_sort preparation and photocatalytic hydrogen production of pink zns
topic pink ZnS
vacancy
temperature
photocatalytic hydrogen evolution
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/13/5/166
work_keys_str_mv AT shangjiegao preparationandphotocatalytichydrogenproductionofpinkzns
AT yongxinlu preparationandphotocatalytichydrogenproductionofpinkzns
AT tengma preparationandphotocatalytichydrogenproductionofpinkzns
AT haixialiu preparationandphotocatalytichydrogenproductionofpinkzns
AT jiezhang preparationandphotocatalytichydrogenproductionofpinkzns