Ag-modified sulfur vacancy-rich ZnIn₂S₄ ultrathin Nanosheets promote oxygen activation for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide synthesis

Zhihan He; Linjia Li; Youyu Pang; Meng Cui; Yanhong Lin; Tengfeng Xie

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2025.138353

Ag-modified sulfur vacancy-rich ZnIn₂S₄ ultrathin Nanosheets promote oxygen activation for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide synthesis

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2025 Jul 4;700(Pt 1):138353. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2025.138353. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zhihan He¹, Linjia Li¹, Youyu Pang¹, Meng Cui², Yanhong Lin¹, Tengfeng Xie³

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
² Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin 130022, China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230029, China.
³ College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China. Electronic address: xietf@jlu.edu.cn.

PMID: 40651156
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2025.138353

Abstract

The photocatalytic synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) through the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) presents a sustainable approach for the production of this industrially crucial compound. However, the photocatalytic efficiency is hindered by inefficient charge separation and sluggish interfacial reaction dynamics. In this study, we have fabricated Ag-modified sulfur vacancy-rich ultrathin ZnIn₂S₄ nanosheets (Ag-Sv-ZIS) as highly effective ORR catalysts, which display a H₂O₂ production rate of 8982 μmol g^-1 h^-1 under visible light irradiation (≥420 nm). In-situ transient surface photovoltage (TPV) spectra and femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) spectra indicate that the incorporation of Ag efficiently promotes the interfacial charge transfer between the photocatalyst and O₂. This research offers novel perspectives on the design of high-performance photocatalysts via the rational engineering of active sites and surface reaction dynamics for efficient photocatalytic H₂O₂ synthesis.

Keywords: Interfacial charge transport; O₂ activation; Photocatalytic H₂O₂ synthesis; Sulfur vacancy; ZnIn(2)S(4).