Fabrication of a highly dispersed Co3O4-modified MOF-derived ZnO@ZnS porous heterostructure for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract

A porous and highly dispersed Co₃O₄-modified ZnO@ZnS heterostructure (Co₃O₄–ZnO@ZnS) was developed by the simple calcination and sulfurization of the designed bimetallic ZnCo-ZIF@ZIF-8. The charge separation and transfer in this novel heterostructure were significantly improved owing to the highly dispersed Co₃O₄ and the porous structure. The hydrogen production rate of Co₃O₄–ZnO@ZnS was 1816.3 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ with Na₂S–Na₂SO₃ as the sacrificial agent under a Xe lamp, which was 1.5 times greater than that of ZnO@ZnS (1215.6 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹). Moreover, the photocatalytic performance of Co₃O₄–ZnO@ZnS was further improved by loading a Pt cocatalyst, with the hydrogen production rate reaching 3269.3 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹. This method can be used to design other effective photocatalytic heterostructures for water splitting.