The Construction of Type II Cu₂O/ZnFe₂O₄ Heterojunction Promoted the Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Activity

Photocatalytic hydrogen production by semiconductors is an optimal path to achieve solar energy conversion. In this work, Cu₂O/ZnFe₂O₄ type II heterostructure is composed of ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles loaded on the surface of Cu₂O microspheres, the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance is studied. Under the irradiation 5 h of 5 w LED lamp, the hydrogen production of Cu₂O/ZnFe₂O₄ composites was 30.8 and 12.7 times higher than pure Cu₂O and pure ZnFe₂O₄, respectively. In addition, after four cycles of experiments for 20 h, the hydrogen production is still maintained at 67.4% of the initial activity, indicating the relatively stable hydrogen evolution activity of the composite material. The electron transfer mechanism of the photocatalyst was confirmed through the utilization of density functional theory (DFT) and in-situ irradiation X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The effective interfacial contact between Cu₂O and ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles forms a type II heterojunction, which makes the effective separation of photogenerated charges, facilitates the reduction of protons to H₂, and achieves efficient hydrogen production. This work presents a strategy for simple design and fabrication of highly efficient composite photocatalysts.