Titanium Nitride-Supported Platinum with Metal–Support Interaction for Boosting Photocatalytic H₂ Evolution of Indium Sulfide

Abstract

Metal-support interaction strongly influences the catalytic properties of metal-based catalysts. Here, titanium nitride (TiN) nanospheres are shown to be an outstanding support, for tuning the electronic property of platinum (Pt) nanoparticles and adjusting the morphology of indium sulfide (In₂S₃) active components, forming flower-like core-shell nanostructures (TiN-Pt@In₂S₃). The strong metal-support interaction between Pt and TiN through the formation of Pt-Ti bonds favors the migration of charge carriers and leads to the easy reducibility of TiN-Pt, thus improving the photocatalytic atom efficiency of Pt. The TiN-Pt@In₂S₃ composite shows reduction of Pt loading by 70% compared to the optimal Pt-based system. In addition, the optimal TiN-Pt@In₂S₃ composite exhibits a H₂ evolution rate 4 times that of a Pt reference. This increase outperforms all other supports reported thus far.