Creation of Interfacial S 4 -Sn-N 2 Electron Pathways for Efficient Light-Driven Hydrogen Evolution.

Establishing effective charge transfer channels between two semiconductors is key to improving photocatalytic activity. However, controlling hetero-structures in situ and designing binding modes pose significant challenges. Herein, hydrolytic SnCl 2 ·2H 2 O is selected as the metal source and loaded in situ onto a layered carbon nitriden supramolecular precursor. A composite photocatalyst, S 4 -Sn-N 2 , with electron pathways of SnS 2 and tubular carbon nitriden (TCN) is prepared through pyrolysis and vulcanization processes. The contact interface of SnS 2 -TCN is increased significantly, promoting the formation of S 4 -Sn-N 2 micro-structure in a Z-scheme charge transfer channel. This structure accelerates the separation and transport of photogenerated carriers, maintains the stronger redox ability, and improves the stability of SnS 2 in this series of heterojunctions. Therefore, the catalyst demonstrated exceptional photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency, achieving a reaction rate of 86.4 µmol h -1 , which is 3.15 times greater than that of bare TCN.