Solvothermal synthesis of FeS2 nanoparticles for photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation in neutral water

We developed a facile one-step solvothermal method to synthesize FeS2 nanoparticles in oleylamine-ethanol system. The size of FeS2 nanoparticles can be effectively controlled via adjusting the quantities of Fe(CH3COO)2 and sulfur. The obtained FeS2 nanoparticles can serve as efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen generation with an overpotential of about 0.65 V in neutral electrolyte solution at room temperature and show enhanced photocatalytic performance for splitting water under visible light irradiation. In addition, the photocurrent of the catalyst increases with the specific surface area increasing because the catalyst with higher specific surface area have more active sites and can capture light energy more efficiently under visible light irradiation.