One-step synthesis and photocatalytic behavior for H₂ production from water of ZnS/MoS₂ composite material

ZnS/MoS₂ composite material was prepared by one-step solvothermal method at different molybdenum concentration. The structural properties of the composite material were analyzed by XRD, UV–vis DRS, TEM and XPS techniques, and the photocatalytic was evaluated for the hydrogen production under UV irradiation. The hydrogen yield reaches 606 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹ for the material with 10% of molybdenum, which was 30 and 50% superior than that obtained using MoS₂ and ZnS as photocatalyst, respectively. The increase in the photocatalytic activity may be associated to a synergistic effect produced by the interaction between ZnS and MoS₂, as well as the formation of defects in the structure of ZnS, due to sulfur vacancies produced during the synthesis, which could be observed in the TEM analysis of the composite material.