Coupling interface constructions of ZnO@ZnS@FeOOH for photocatalytic hydrogen production performance.

Photocatalysis is a reliable method to solve energy crisis and generate green energy hydrogen. ZnO@ZnS (ZOS) formed heterojunction repressed carrier complexation and thus enhanced photocatalytic performance, but its low photoresponse efficiency limited its photocatalytic performance. Therefore, in this paper, ZnO@ZnS was modified with ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) to form ZnO@ZnS@FeOOH composites with coupling interface. The modification of EDTA could inhibite the oxidation of FeOOH during the synthesis process, and what's more it could enhance the charge transfer at the heterojunction interface to promote the separation of electron-hole pairs and photoresponsive ability to further enhanced the hydrogen precipitation performance. The concentration of EDTA and Fe sources were regulated to investigate the photocatalytic hydrogen production capacity of the composites. The results indicated that the ternary composite ZnO@ZnS@FeOOH had the superior hydrogen evolution performance with the hydrogen evolution rate of 529.17 umol g−1 h−1, which was 2.4 times higher than that of ZOS. EDTA acts as an electron channel to enhance the inter-interfacial electron transfer capability, and the loading of FeOOH formed a heterojunction structure, which promoted carrier separation and enhanced the photoresponse. It's the synergistic effect to enhanced the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance. This paper provided a method for the construction of ternary heterojunctions and interfacial charge transport channels. [Display omitted] • EDTA was coated on ZnO@ZnS to form ZnO@ZnS@FeOOH. • EDTA facilitates the growth of FeOOH avoiding oxidation on the surface of ZnO@ZnS. • EDTA as an electron channel, enhanced the interfacial electron transport capacity. • The ZnO@ZnS@FeOOH exhibited photocatalytic activity of 529.17 umol g−1 h−1 of H 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]