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Efficient charge separation and transfer in photocatalytic systems continuously enable better water splitting for clean H2evolution. Herein, a feasible in situgrowth hydrothermal strategy by coupling an ultrathin Ti3C2(TC) MXene nanosheet electron acceptor with a Mn0.5Cd0.5S (MCS) nanoparticle donor is introduced to construct a multifunctional donor–acceptor MCS/TC photocatalyst with a strong Schottky junction toward green and sustainable photocatalytic H2production. The strong Schottky junction realizes a rapid carrier directional separation and transportation. The ultrathin TC nanosheets, as an electron acceptor to catalyze proton reduction, can promote the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and provide rich active sites for photocatalytic hydrogen production. Moreover, the optimal MCS/TC-10 (10 wt % TC) photocatalyst provides a highly stable photocatalytic H2activity, up to 3730 μmol h–1g–1, which is 9 times higher than that of Mn0.5Cd0.5S solid solution. This work will inspire the development of design principles for accelerating charge transfer for efficient photocatalytic green H2production.

Photocatalytic water splitting with clean solar energy is a sustainable way to produce green hydrogen (H2) fuel. Here, an efficient, visible-light-responsive hierarchical Co9S8/ZnIn2S4photocatalyst is designed by decorating Co9S8nanoparticles on ZnIn2S4nanoflower through a two-step solvothermal process for photocatalytic H2evolution. Two photoactive sulfide–sulfide integrations in a stable, hierarchical, and flower-like Co9S8/ZnIn2S4heterojunction, provide large surface areas with rich active centers and endow a quick separation and transfer of photoinduced electrons and holes. With the optimal loading amount of Co9S8, the Co9S8/ZnIn2S4photocatalyst, under visible-light illumination, free of any cocatalysts, reaches a high hydrogen evolution rate of 126.7 μmol h–1or 12.67 mmol h–1g–1with high stability, which is 6 times higher than that of individual ZnIn2S4. Our effort may give some inspirations to the delicate design of competent novel structured photocatalysts for reinforcing photocatalytic performance.

The three-dimensional activated carbon network with porous structure was prepared by calcining and etching the platanus fluff with the aid of Co(NO3)·6H2O and KOH. The biomass porous carbon (BPC) derived from platanus fluff exhibited developed meso-macroporous structure and great electrochemical performance (175 F g–1at 1 A g–1). Herein, the NiCo2S4/BPC was synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method and utilized as the competitive materials of the supercapacitor electrode. The NiCo2S4/BPC electrode displayed a better specific capacity than that of the pure NiCo2S4electrode in the three-electrode device. Moreover, the hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) of NiCo2S4/BPC||BPC displayed a high energy density of 38.5 W h kg–1at 738.1 W kg–1within a wide voltage range of 0–1.6 V. It is noteworthy that NiCo2S4/BPC||BPC also showed superior cycling stability to NiCo2S4||BPC. Using BPC with a developed porous structure as a conductive substrate not only improves the electrochemical performance of NiCo2S4but also provides new thoughts for the development of high-performance HSCs.