Issue 32, 2023

Ni2FeS4 as a highly efficient earth-abundant co-catalyst in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract

The earth abundant sulphide Ni2FeS4 was used as a highly efficient co-catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) over TiO2, boosting the activity of pure TiO2 (P25) by a factor of more than 8 under AM 1.5G simulated sunlight, thus presenting a promising alternative to platinum or rhodium co-catalysts. Low metal-sulphide loadings of only 0.5 wt% (0.29 wt% of metals) could be realised, thereby rivalling common loadings of noble metal co-catalysts at significantly lower material costs. The performance was stable under 1 sun irradiation and no decrease in the activity was observed over 20 h of irradiation. The synthesis of Ni2FeS4 is based on low-cost precursors and can be completed after only 1 min at 200 °C in the microwave, without need for toxic H2S, presenting an energy efficient and cost-effective possibility to obtain large amounts of such co-catalysts in a short time. This combination of a fast and cheap synthesis together with a high efficiency and stability makes Ni2FeS4 an outstanding candidate for the use as co-catalyst for the HER with sunlight.

Graphical abstract: Ni2FeS4 as a highly efficient earth-abundant co-catalyst in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 apr 2023
Accepted
18 jul 2023
First published
20 jul 2023

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 17066-17078

Ni2FeS4 as a highly efficient earth-abundant co-catalyst in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

J. Zander and R. Marschall, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023, 11, 17066 DOI: 10.1039/D3TA02439C

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