Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation via Up-conversion in Y2O3:Yb3+, Er3+ Nanoparticles Under Near-infrared Light Irradiation

doi:10.1007/s40242-025-5098-5

高等学校化学研究 ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 859-867.doi: 10.1007/s40242-025-5098-5

Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation via Up-conversion in Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ Nanoparticles Under Near-infrared Light Irradiation

YAN Shaohan^1,2, WANG Lijing⁴, SHAN Pengnian², LIN Xue³, SHI Weilong^1,2

1. Key Laboratory of Green Extraction & Efficient Utilization of Light Rareearth Resources of Ministry of Education, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou 014010, P. R. China;
2. School of Material Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212003, P. R. China;
3. School of Material Science and Engineering, Beihua University, Jilin 132013, P. R. China;
4. Henan Engineering Center of New Energy Battery Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, P. R. China

收稿日期:2025-05-15 接受日期:2025-06-15 出版日期:2025-08-01 发布日期:2025-07-24
通讯作者: SHI Weilong,shiwl@just.edu.cn;LIN Xue,jlsdlinxue@126.com E-mail:shiwl@just.edu.cn;jlsdlinxue@126.com
基金资助:
This work was supported by the Open Fund of the Key Laboratory of Green Extraction & Efficient Utilization of Light Rare-earth Resources, China (No. KLRE-KF-008), the Science and Technology Development Project of Jilin Province, China (Nos. 20230203010SF and 20220101237JC), and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Funding Project of Jilin Province, China (No. 2023QN36).

Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation via Up-conversion in Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ Nanoparticles Under Near-infrared Light Irradiation

YAN Shaohan^1,2, WANG Lijing⁴, SHAN Pengnian², LIN Xue³, SHI Weilong^1,2

1. Key Laboratory of Green Extraction & Efficient Utilization of Light Rareearth Resources of Ministry of Education, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou 014010, P. R. China;
2. School of Material Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212003, P. R. China;
3. School of Material Science and Engineering, Beihua University, Jilin 132013, P. R. China;
4. Henan Engineering Center of New Energy Battery Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, P. R. China

Received:2025-05-15 Accepted:2025-06-15 Online:2025-08-01 Published:2025-07-24
Supported by:
This work was supported by the Open Fund of the Key Laboratory of Green Extraction & Efficient Utilization of Light Rare-earth Resources, China (No. KLRE-KF-008), the Science and Technology Development Project of Jilin Province, China (Nos. 20230203010SF and 20220101237JC), and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Funding Project of Jilin Province, China (No. 2023QN36).

摘要/Abstract

摘要： Against the backdrop of increasing energy shortages, hydrogen energy has garnered significant attention as a green and clean alternative energy source. To fully exploit a broader portion of the solar spectrum, we designed a Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺/ZnIn₂S₄(denoted as YYE/ZIS) composite photocatalyst with a well-defined loaded structure of coating Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ nanoparticles on the ZnIn₂S₄ micro-flowers, capable of efficiently utilizing near-infrared (NIR) light through an up-conversion mechanism. The introduction of Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ ions endows the Y₂O₃ with excellent up-conversion luminescence properties, enabling the effective conversion of low-energy NIR photons into high-energy visible light over YYE/ZIS composite, which subsequently activates the ZIS component for NIR-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production. Photoelectrochemical characterizations reveal that the loaded structure significantly facilitates efficient charge separation and migration at the interface, while markedly suppressing the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, thereby enhancing the overall photocatalytic performance. Remarkably, the catalyst demonstrates excellent NIR-response hydrogen evolution performance (16.3 μmol·g^-1·h^-1) even in the absence of noble metal co-catalysts, such as Pt, achieving a hydrogen production rate approximately 10.9 times higher than that of pristine ZIS. This work proposes a novel approach for constructing up-conversion-enabled composite photocatalysts with rationally engineered interfacial architectures.

关键词: Photocatalytic, Hydrogen, Up-conversion, Near-infrared (NIR), Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺, ZnIn₂S₄

Abstract: Against the backdrop of increasing energy shortages, hydrogen energy has garnered significant attention as a green and clean alternative energy source. To fully exploit a broader portion of the solar spectrum, we designed a Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺/ZnIn₂S₄(denoted as YYE/ZIS) composite photocatalyst with a well-defined loaded structure of coating Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ nanoparticles on the ZnIn₂S₄ micro-flowers, capable of efficiently utilizing near-infrared (NIR) light through an up-conversion mechanism. The introduction of Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ ions endows the Y₂O₃ with excellent up-conversion luminescence properties, enabling the effective conversion of low-energy NIR photons into high-energy visible light over YYE/ZIS composite, which subsequently activates the ZIS component for NIR-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production. Photoelectrochemical characterizations reveal that the loaded structure significantly facilitates efficient charge separation and migration at the interface, while markedly suppressing the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, thereby enhancing the overall photocatalytic performance. Remarkably, the catalyst demonstrates excellent NIR-response hydrogen evolution performance (16.3 μmol·g^-1·h^-1) even in the absence of noble metal co-catalysts, such as Pt, achieving a hydrogen production rate approximately 10.9 times higher than that of pristine ZIS. This work proposes a novel approach for constructing up-conversion-enabled composite photocatalysts with rationally engineered interfacial architectures.

Key words: Photocatalytic, Hydrogen, Up-conversion, Near-infrared (NIR), Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺, ZnIn₂S₄

YAN Shaohan, WANG Lijing, SHAN Pengnian, LIN Xue, SHI Weilong. Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation via Up-conversion in Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ Nanoparticles Under Near-infrared Light Irradiation[J]. 高等学校化学研究, 2025, 41(4): 859-867.

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Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation via Up-conversion in Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ Nanoparticles Under Near-infrared Light Irradiation

Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation via Up-conversion in Y₂O₃:Yb³⁺, Er³⁺ Nanoparticles Under Near-infrared Light Irradiation

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