Metal Sulfide Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Generation: A Review of Recent Advances

Abstract

Metal-sulfide nanostructures have piqued the interest of researchers for decades due to their intriguing optoelectronic properties. Indeed, significant advances and improvements have been made in various fundamental aspects for cutting-edge applications, such as water splitting and hydrogen production. Furthermore, rising demand for low-dimensional materials due to lower material consumption and improved performance due to quantum size effects has spurred research on semiconducting metal sulfides. Consequently, size-controllable nanostructures with diverse morphologies have been fabricated and studied for potential applications. However, the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate is still limited mainly by fast recombination rate, poor solar energy utilization and lack of surface-active sites for H2 reduction. This review will highlight particularly recent findings in metal-sulfide-based photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions, considering the swift development and excellent research in this field. Following a brief overview of fundamental properties, we will explore state-of-the-art strategies for enhancing H2 generation efficiencies over the pristine, heterostructured and co-catalayzed metal-sulfide photocatalysts.