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A series of Cu-doped ZnIn 2 S 4 photocatalysts has been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method, with the copper concentration varying from 0 wt% to 2.0 wt%. The physical and photophysical properties of these Cu-doped ZnIn 2 S 4 photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV−visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV−vis). The diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence spectra of Cu-doped ZnIn 2 S 4 shifted monotonically to longer wavelengths as the copper concentration increased from 0 wt% to 2.0 wt%, indicating that the optical properties of these photocatalysts greatly depended on the amount of Cu doped. Meanwhile, the layered structure of ZnIn 2 S 4 would be destructed gradually by Cu doping. The photoactivity of ZnIn 2 S 4 was enhanced when Cu 2+ was doped into the crystal structure. The highest photocatalytic activity was observed on Cu (0.5 wt%)–doped ZnIn 2 S 4, with the rate of hydrogen evolution to be 151.5 μmol/h under visible light irradiation (λ > 430 nm). On the basis of the calculated energy band positions and optical properties, the effect of copper as a dopant on the photocatalytic activity of Cu-ZnIn 2 S 4 was studied.
Shen et al. (Sat,) studied this question.