Novel Stannite-type Complex Sulfide Photocatalysts A^I₂-Zn-A^IV-S₄ (A^I = Cu and Ag; A^IV = Sn and Ge) for Hydrogen Evolution under Visible-Light Irradiation

Abstract

Photophysical properties and photocatalytic activities for H2 evolution of the series of stannite-type complex sulfides AI2-Zn-AIV-S4 (AI = Cu and Ag; AIV = Sn and Ge) were studied. Diffuse reflection spectra and the plane-wave-based density functional theory (DFT) calculation suggested that the conduction bands were made up of Ge4s4p or Sn5s5p with S3p orbitals, while the valence bands consisted of Cu3d and Ag4d with S3p orbitals. The constituting elements of AI and AIV affected the photophysical and photocatalytic properties. Ru cocatalyst-loaded Cu2ZnGeS4, Ag2ZnGeS4, and Ag2ZnSnS4 showed high activities for photocatalytic H2 evolution from an aqueous Na2S+K2SO3 solution under visible-light irradiation. Combination of Cu and Ag made it possible that the CuAgZnSnS4 photocatalyst with a narrow band gap (1.4 eV) utilized a wide range of visible light for the H2 evolution.