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Effective charge separation and migration pose a critical challenge in the field of solar-driven hydrogen production. In this work, a Z-scheme structured CuInS2/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction was successfully fabricated through a two-step hydrothermal synthesis method to significantly enhance the efficiency of solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion. Structural characterization revealed that the lattice-matched CuInS2/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction exhibits an enlarged interfacial contact area, which facilitates the transfer and separation of photogenerated charges. Microscopic analysis indicated that the CuInS2/ZnIn2S4 composite material has a tightly interwoven interface and a morphology resembling small sugar cubes. Photoelectrochemical spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that the heterojunction structure effectively enhances visible light absorption and charge separation efficiency, leading to an improvement in photocatalytic activity. Hydrogen production experimental data indicated that the CuInS2/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction photocatalyst prepared with a CuInS2 content of 20 wt% exhibits the highest hydrogen evolution rate, reaching 284.9 μmol·g−1·h−1. Moreover, this photocatalyst maintains robust photocatalytic stability even after three consecutive usage cycles. This study demonstrated that the Z-scheme CuInS2/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction photocatalyst exhibits enhanced hydrogen evolution efficiency, offering an effective structural design for harnessing solar energy to obtain hydrogen fuel. Therefore, this heterojunction photocatalyst is a promising candidate for practical applications in solar hydrogen production.

Copper indium sulfide (CuInS 2 ) exhibits strong visible light absorption and thus has the potential for good photocatalytic activity; however, rapid charge recombination limits its practical usage. An intriguing strategy to overcome this issue is to couple CuInS 2 with another semiconductor to form a heterojunction, which can improve the charge carrier separation and, hence, enhance the photocatalytic activity. In this study, photocatalysts comprising CuInS 2 with a secondary CuS phase (termed CuIn x S y ) and CuIn x S y loaded with ZnS (termed ZnS@CuIn x S y ) were synthesized via a microwave-assisted method. Structural and morphological characterization revealed that the ZnS@CuIn x S y photocatalyst comprised tetragonal CuInS 2 containing a secondary phase of hexagonal CuS, coupled with hexagonal ZnS. The effective band gap energy of CuIn x S y was widened from 2.23 to 2.71 as the ZnS loading increased from 0 to 30%. The coupling of CuIn x S y with ZnS leads to long-lived charge carriers and efficient visible-light harvesting properties, which in turn lead to a remarkably high activity for the photocatalytic degradation of brilliant green (95.6% in 5 h) and conversion of 4-nitrophenol to 4-nitrophenolate ions (95.4% in 5 h). The active species involved in these photocatalytic processes were evaluated using suitable trapping agents. Based on the obtained results, photocatalytic mechanisms are proposed that emphasize the importance of h + , O 2 •– , and OH − in photocatalytic processes using ZnS@CuIn x S y .

The synthesis of the accurate composition and morphological/structural design of multielement semiconductor materials is considered an effective strategy for obtaining high-performance hybrid photocatalysts. Herein, sulfur vacancy (Vs)-bearing In2S3/CuInS2 microflower heterojunctions (denoted Vs-In2S3/CuInS2) were formed in situ using In2S3 microsphere template-directed synthesis and a metal ion exchange-mediated growth strategy. Photocatalysts with flower-like microspheres can be obtained using hydrothermally synthesized In2S3 microspheres as a template, followed by Ostwald ripening growth during the metal cation exchange of Cu+ and In3+. The optimal heterostructured Vs-In2S3/CuInS2 microflowers exhibited CO and CH4 evolution rates of 80.3 and 11.8 μmol g−1 h−1, respectively, under visible-light irradiation; these values are approximately 4 and 6.8 times higher than those reported for pristine In2S3, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of the Vs-In2S3/CuInS2 catalysts could be attributed to the synergistic effects of the following factors: (i) the constructed heterojunctions accelerate charge-carrier separation; (ii) the flower-like microspheres exhibit highly uniform morphologies and compositions, which enhance electron transport and light harvesting; and (iii) the vs. may trap excited electrons and, thus, inhibit charge-carrier recombination. This study not only confirms the feasibility of the design of heterostructures on demand, but also presents a simple and efficient strategy to engineer metal sulfide photocatalysts with enhanced photocatalytic performance.

Semiconductor Quantum-dots (QDs), characterized by their unique optoelectronic tunability, high efficiency, and multifunctionality, have emerged as transformative materials in diverse fields, including display technologies, energy conversion, solar cells, biomedical applications, and quantum technologies. With ongoing advancements in material synthesis and device engineering, the application scope of QDs is anticipated to expand further, thereby driving interdisciplinary technological innovations and fostering breakthroughs across multiple scientific fields. However, in recent years, the rapid development of Cd, Pb, and Hg-based QDs has raised significant environmental and biological concerns due to the inherent toxicity of these heavy metals. Consequently, these materials have been classified as restricted substances by major global entities, including international organizations, the European Union, and the United States, through international treaties and domestic legislation. To mitigate legal risks associated with environmental pollution, the development of non-toxic and environmentally friendly (eco-friendly) QDs has become imperative. This review focuses on several eco-friendly QDs, such as indium phosphide (InP), copper indium sulfide (CuInS₂), and graphene QDs (GQDs), from the perspective of environmental compliance. It comprehensively discusses their synthesis methods, application domains, and the advantages and disadvantages of different preparation techniques, along with their environmental impacts. Finally, the review summarizes the existing challenges, limitations, and potential solutions for the development of environmentally benign QDs.

In this research, visible-light photocatalytic activities of CuInS2 nanoparticles for degradation of three organic dyes (rhodamine B; RhB, methylene blue; MB, and methyl orange; MO) were investigated. The CuInS2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple and rapid microwave heating process using sodium sulfide as a sulfur source and then characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) techniques. The synthesized CuInS2 nanoparticles exhibited excellent photocatalytic degradation activity to the cationic dyes (RhB and MB) when compared with that of anionic dye (MO). Zeta potential of the CuInS2 photocatalyst was measured to elucidate the adsorption ability toward dye molecules. A possible photocatalytic degradation mechanism was proposed based on active species quenching experiments and Mott-Schottky analysis.

In this study, CuInS2/ZnS nanocrystals were synthesized by a two-step mechanochemical synthesis for the first time. In the first step, tetragonal CuInS2 was prepared from copper, indium and sulphur precursors. The obtained CuInS2 was further co-milled with zinc acetate dihydrate and sodium sulphide nonahydrate as precursors for cubic ZnS. Structural characterization of the CuInS2/ZnS nanocrystals was performed by X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Specific surface area of the product (86 m2/g) was measured by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption method and zeta potential of the particles dispersed in water was calculated from measurements of their electrophoretic mobility. Optical properties of the nanocrystals were determined using photoluminescence emission spectroscopy.

Heterojunction nanocomposites comprising Nickel‐doped porous ZnO nanosheets decorated with CuInS2 nanoparticles (CuInS2/Ni−ZnO) were prepared through a facile two‐step process. Compared with pure ZnO nanosheets, the Ni doping modifies the energy band structure and narrows the bandgap from 3.1 eV to 2.4 eV, thus enhancing the absorption of visible light. The production of high‐quality CuInS2/Ni−ZnO nanosheets with well‐matched band energy alignment facilitates effective charge transportation and separation. Benefiting from these favorable properties, the as‐prepared CuInS2/Ni−ZnO heterojunction nanosheets exhibit higher photocatalytic activity for reduction of Cr (VI) than CuInS2 and Ni−ZnO in the presence of visible light. The CuInS2/Ni−ZnO‐5 (2 % Ni) composite shows the best photocatalytic activity, which is 7.2 and 5.4 times higher than that of the Ni−ZnO and CuInS2. 98 % of Cr (VI) (50 mg/L) can be reduced within 25 min. Moreover, the activity and structure of the CuInS2/Ni−ZnO catalyst are maintained after five cycles. Combining theoretical calculations and experimental results, a possible photocatalysis mechanism of the CuInS2/Ni−ZnO heterojunction nanocomposites is proposed. Nano on nano: Porous CuInS2/Ni−ZnO nanosheets were synthesized by anchoring CuInS2 nanoparticles on Ni‐doped ZnO nanosheets. The CuInS2/Ni−ZnO nanosheets have a narrow band gap (2.15 eV), high light absorption and effective electron‐hole pair separation, and exhibit efficient photocatalytic activity for reduction of Cr (VI) under visible light. The CuInS2/Ni−ZnO‐5 (2 % Ni) composite shows the best photocatalytic activity, which is 7.2 and 5.4 times higher than that of Ni−ZnO and CuInS2.

The sharp rise of CO 2 in the atmosphere has become a potential threat to global climate, which results from the massive utilization of fossil fuel since the industry revolution. CO 2 electroreduction provides us a new possibility of utilizing CO 2 as a carbon feedstock for fuel and commercial chemicals generation. In this article, a new method is developed for synthesizing CuInS2 hollow nanostructures through the Kirkendall effect. The CuInS 2 hollow nanostructures exhibit excellent catalytic activity for electrochemical reduction of CO 2 with particular high selectivity, achieving high faradaic efficiency for HCOOH of 72.8% at −0.7 V. To elucidate the mechanisms, operando electrochemical Raman spectroscopy is employed to examine the CO2 reduction process. This work provides new insights into the design of hollow nanostructures toward electrocatalytic CO2 conversion and offers us an effective and reliable way for real-time investigation of electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction processes.

This study demonstrates the sustainable synthesis of multifunctional CIS@MIL-101(Cr) composites for water treatment applications. The composites were prepared via hybridization of CuInS2 with MIL-101(Cr) resulting in the formation of CIS nanoplates incorporated into MIL-101(Cr). The composites exhibited enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity due to their low bandgap energy and were tested for tetracycline photodegradation achieving a degradation efficiency of 98.8%. The material showed high stability after four cycles, and the effects of reactive species on photodegradation were investigated. The kinetics and mechanism of the photocatalytic process were studied, and LC-MS analysis was conducted to identify intermediate products. These results demonstrate the potential of using waste PET to create new semiconductors for water pollution control, promoting a circular material pathway.

In recent years, quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as a potential contrast agent for bioimaging due to their bright luminescence and excellent photostability. However, the wide use of QDs in vivo has been limited due to underlying toxicity caused by leakage of heavy metals. Although non-cadmium QDs have been developed to resolve this issue, a comprehensive understanding of the toxicity of these newly developed QDs remains elusive. In this study, we administered PEGylated copper indium sulfide/zinc sulfide (CuInS2/ZnS), which are typical non-cadmium QDs, and analyzed the long-term effects of these nanoparticles in BALB/c mice. Body weight, hematology, blood biochemistry, organ histology, and biodistribution were examined at different time points. We found no significant difference in body weight after injection of CuInS2/ZnS QDs. These CuInS2/ZnS QDs entered and were accumulated in major organs for 90 days post-injection. The majority of biochemical indicators were not significantly different between the QDs-treated group and the control group. In addition, no significant histopathological abnormalities were observed in the treated mice compared with the control mice. CuInS2/ZnS QDs did not lead to observable toxicity in vivo following either the administration of a high or low dose. Our research not only provides direct evidence of the bio-safety of CuInS2/ZnS QDs, but also a feasible method for evaluating nanoparticle toxicity.