Highly hydrogen generation and delivery path of In2O3(ZnO)4 photocatalyst via theoretical calculation and experimental investigation

•Novel In2O3(ZnO)4 has a high visible light hydrogen production efficiency of 818.72 μmol⋅g−1·h−1 without co-catalyst.•DFT results show that the Zn atom on the (111) crystal surface of In2O3(ZnO)4 is the stable H adsorption and desorption site.•The addition of sacrificial agents significantly affects the efficiency of In2O3(ZnO)4 hydrogen production.