Recent advances in synthesis, modification and photocatalytic applications of micro/nano-structured zinc indium sulfide

[Display omitted] •Excellent properties and recent advances of ZnIn2S4 micro/nano-structures are emphasized.•The optimizing strategies for ZnIn2S4 photocatalyst are explicated.•Favorable performances in energy conversion and pollutants removal are summarized.•Profound mechanisms for the catalytic activity improvement are discussed.•Current challenges and prospects of ZnIn2S4 and ZnIn2S4-based photocatalysts are proposed. Solar light is an ideal energy source to overcome the crisis of energy shortage and severe environment problems. In the past decades, photocatalysis technology has aroused tremendous interests. As a layered structure ternary metal chalcogenide, zinc indium sulfide (ZnIn2S4) is a typical visible-light-responsive photocatalyst which has a tunable band gap for wider light absorption. Recently, ZnIn2S4 has been widely utilized in photocatalytic applications. Its photocatalytic performance is largely dependent on its structure, morphology and optical characteristics. This review first presented the crystal properties, the morphology characteristics as well as the electronic and optical properties of ZnIn2S4. Then, recent advances in the preparation and growth mechanisms of ZnIn2S4 micro/nano-structures were summarized. Furthermore, the modification methods for constructing efficient ZnIn2S4-based photocatalysts and their applications in hydrogen evolution, CO2 reduction and pollutants removal were also emphasized in this review. Finally, the current challenges and the crucial issues of ZnIn2S4 and ZnIn2S4-based photocatalysts were proposed. It is expected that such a critical review could bring a better understanding of ZnIn2S4.