BACKGROUNDTo overcome the drawback of low photocatalytic efficiency due to electron - hole recombination and narrow photoresponse range, a novel Bi2S3/ZrO2 composite photocatalyst was designed. The composite possesses wide photoabsorption up to 800 nm, which occupies mostly the UV and visible light region. Composites of Bi2S3/ZrO2 were synthesized using a solvothermal method. The photocatalytic production of hydrogen from methanol/water, under UV and visible light, was demonstrated. RESULTSA remarkable activity for hydrogen production was obtained for Bi2S3/ZrO2 composites under UV and visible light. The reported hydrogen production under UV light were 4440 mu mol h(-1) g(-1) for 6 wt% Bi2S3/ZrO2 increasing by a factor of 6 the production obtained for the bare ZrO2 support. The hydrogen production under visible light was 1476 mu mol h(-1) g(-1) for the same 6 wt. % Bi2S3 composite showing that this photocatalyst is active under both UV and visible light. CONCLUSIONThe the optimal content of 6 wt. % of Bi2S3/ZrO2 composite exhibited an enhanced performance under UV and visible light compared to bare ZrO2 and Bi2S3 semiconductors. This improvement is attributed to a reduced recombination of e(-)/h(+), as indicated by photoluminescence (PL) study. (c) 2017 Society of Chemical Industry