Zn-doped SnS with sulfur vacancies for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water

Abstract

Tin sulfide has attracted considerable attention due to its adjustable optoelectronic properties. However, few present pieces of literature focus on the photocatalytic water splitting performance of stannous sulfide (SnS), despite several studies that have confirmed it as a nanomaterial theoretically. In this work, Zn-doped SnS with sulfur vacancies has been prepared that exhibits significant performance for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water. The vacancy concentration can be regulated by tuning the ratios of tin and sulfur sources during the solvothermal process. Zinc doping and modifying sulfur vacancies can be used to adjust the band structure of SnS to match the hydrogen ion reduction potential. This study shows that engineering the defect concentration and ion dopants has great potential to improve the photocatalytic activity of metal sulfides, providing insights into using SnS photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution by regulating electronic structures with defect engineering.