Photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible light irradiation on AgIn5S8 photocatalyst

A new visible-light-driven photocatalyst AgIn5S8 was prepared by a simple two-step process, which involves the first co-precipitation process at room temperature and subsequently heat-treatment process at 750 °C under pure argon flow protection. The obtained AgIn5S8 sample showed high activity for the evolution of hydrogen under visible light irradiation (λ⩾420 nm) from aqueous solution containing S2− and SO32− ions as sacrificial electron donors. It was found that several experimental parameters, such as the concentration of sacrificial reagents and the loading of Pt co-catalyst, play important roles on the evolution rate of H2 under visible light irradiation.