Bridging structure and performance in ZnIn2S4 photocatalysts: Mitigating photocorrosion and recombination toward sustainable environmental applications.

Photocatalytic technology offers a sustainable route for environmental remediation and clean energy production, with ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) emerging as a promising candidate. However, its practical application is severely limited by rapid charge recombination and photocorrosion. Unlike existing reviews that catalog modification strategies in isolation, this review adopts a distinctive bottleneck-oriented perspective-overcoming photocorrosion and charge recombination-as a unifying framework to bridge structural engineering with environmental performance. Recent advances in rational structural modulation that effectively enhance the stability and activity of ZIS toward H2 evolution, CO2 reduction, H2O2 synthesis, and pollutant degradation are critically assessed. Finally, we outline the remaining challenges and propose future research directions for robust ZIS-based photocatalysts toward sustainable environmental and energy solutions.