Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (12): 100174.doi: 10.1016/j.actphy.2025.100174

• ARTICLE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

TiO2/CdIn2S4 S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst promotes photocatalytic hydrogen evolution coupled vanillyl alcohol oxidation

Jiali Lei1, Juan Wang1,*(), Wenhui Zhang1, Guohong Wang1,*(), Zihui Liang2, Jinmao Li1,*()   

  1. 1 Hubei Key Laboratory of Pollutant Analysis and Reuse Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi 435002, Hubei Province, China
    2 National Local Joint Laboratory for Advanced Textile Processing and Clean Production, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430073, Hubei Province, China
  • Received:2025-07-26 Revised:2025-08-24 Accepted:2025-08-25 Published:2025-10-23
  • Contact: Email: wangjuan830508@163.com (Juan Wang)wanggh2003@163.com (Guohong Wang)jemolee@126.com (Jinmao Li)
  • Supported by:
    the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52003079); the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22075072); Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province(2023AFD027); Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province(2024AFB238); Scientific Research Project of Education Department of Hubei Province(D20232504); the Open Research Fund of National Local Joint Laboratory for Advanced Textile Processing and Clean Production, Wuhan Textile University(FX20240019)

Abstract:

In this paper, a dual-function TiO2/CdIn2S4 S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst was fabricated through electrospinning and hydrothermal methods for hydrogen generation coupled with the selective oxidation of vanillyl alcohol (VAL) to vanillin (VN). The results indicate that the hybrid material containing 0.5 wt% CdIn2S4 possesses the best photocatalytic performance. The hydrogen generation rate reaches 403.36 μmol g−1 h−1. Meanwhile, the conversion of VAL is measured to be 90.99%. The results of experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate that the S-scheme heterojunction enhances the rate of charge migration and improves the efficiency of charge separation. In this system, the photoexcited holes with stronger oxidation capacity are reserved to catalyze the conversion of VAL into VN, while the photoexcited electrons with stronger reduction capacity are utilized to generate hydrogen. This study introduces a promising strategy that combines photocatalytic hydrogen generation with the selective conversion of organic compounds, offering novel insights into the development of innovative photocatalysts for effective solar energy utilization.

Key words: TiO2/CdIn2S4, S-scheme heterojunction, Dual-function photocatalyst, Vanillyl alcohol, Selective oxidation