Efficient electron transport by 1D CuZnInS modified 2D Ti₃C₂ MXene for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production

The efficiency of the photocatalytic reaction is mainly determined by the effective separation of photogenerated electron (e^-) and hole (h⁺). As a high electrical conductivity, two-dimensional (2D) Ti₃C₂ MXene is widely used as an electronic transmission intermediary with a large surface area and active terminal. In this work, 1D CuZnInS are loaded on the surface of 2D Ti₃C₂ MXene nanosheets to compound 1D/2D CuZnInS/Ti₃C₂ nanocomposites with effective inhibition of charge-carrier recombination. The H₂ production rate of optimized 1D/2D CuZnInS/Ti₃C₂ composite reached 15.24 mmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹, which is 4.5 times than that of pure CuZnInS (3.38 mmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹), and the apparent quantum efficiencies (AQEs) of composite photocatalysts can reach 0.39% and 0.24% under light irradiation at 365 nm and 420 nm wavelength, respectively. In addition, 1D/2D CuZnInS/Ti₃C₂ has high stability after 10 cycles. The enhanced photocatalytic performance is attributed to the large specific surface area of 2D Ti₃C₂ nanosheets, which facilitates the separation and transfer of photogenerated e^- and h⁺ pairs.