Abstract

Establishing efficient and clear atomic-level charge transfer channels presents a significant challenge in the design of effective photocatalysts. A sound strategy has been developed herein involving the construction of defect-induced heterostructures that create chemical bonds serving as charge transfer channels at the heterojunction interface. In situ XPS, alongside theoretical calculations, demonstrates the successful construction of Zn–O/N–C as atomic charge transfer channels. Our findings reveal that the introduction of zinc vacancies (VZn) reduces the carrier transport activation energy (CTAE) from 155.2 meV for ZIS/CN to 128.7 meV for VZn-ZIS/CN. Consequently, the optimal VZn-ZIS/CN achieves a high hydrogen evolution rate of 22.26 mmol g–1 h–1 without Pt as a cocatalyst, which is approximately 57 times greater compared to that of ZIS/CN. Notably, hydrogen is generated at bubble levels under natural sunlight. This work provides insights into the mechanisms by which defect-induced heterostructure building strategies can introduce chemical bonds at the heterojunction interface.