Leaf‐Architecture and Function‐Mimicked Ensemble of Hierarchical Ag Nanowires/Ti <sub>3</sub> C <sub>2</sub> T <i> <sub>x</sub> </i> MXene@Sulfur‐Vacancy Rich ZnIn <sub>2</sub> S <sub>4</sub> Nanosheet Arrays for Enhanced Photoredox Catalysis
Guanshun Xie, Le Liao, Zhaohui Huang, Jie Wang, Senlin Zhang, Yingde Wang, Ruoning Zhan, Peng Zhang, Benhua Xu, Xiuqiang Xie, Nan Zhang
Abstract
Abstract In pursuing efficient photocatalytic systems, nature‐inspired photocatalysis has emerged as a promising strategy to optimize charge transfer and surface reactions. Inspired by the structure and function of plant leaves, a leaf‐like hierarchical heterostructure is constructed. ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheet arrays are anchored on the integrated Ag nanowires network with Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene support, during which process sulfur vacancies (V S ) are formed due to the anti‐strong metal‐support interaction. The ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheet arrays supported by Ti 3 C 2 T x serve as mesophyll to absorb photons and convert solar‐to‐chemicals, the Ag nanowires embedded in the interface of ZnIn 2 S 4 and Ti 3 C 2 T x function as veins to shuttle the charge carriers for the surface redox reactions, and the V S on ZnIn 2 S 4 resemble stomata to facilitate the adsorption of reactants. Furthermore, the formed V S are able to reduce the thermodynamic barriers in photocatalytic reactions. The synergistic effect of these functional components enables hydrogenation of several nitroaromatic compounds, and exhibits a photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate of 1119.4 µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ under visible‐light irradiation, which is ≈7.9 times as high as that of pure ZnIn 2 S 4 . This study highlights the pivotal role of functional design inspired by nature in advancing solar‐to‐chemical conversion and paves the way for the development of next‐generation photocatalysts in green chemistry and H 2 energy applications.