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Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalytic H 2 Production by Zn x Cd 1− x S Modified with Earth‐Abundant Nickel‐Based Cocatalysts
Author(s) -
Ran Jingrun,
Zhang Jun,
Yu Jiaguo,
Qiao Shi Zhang
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201402574
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , catalysis , nickel , nickel sulfide , non blocking i/o , metal , sulfide , materials science , visible spectrum , cadmium sulfide , inorganic chemistry , nuclear chemistry , chemistry , metallurgy , organic chemistry , optoelectronics
Abstract The application of various earth‐abundant Ni species, such as NiS, Ni, Ni(OH) 2 , and NiO, as a co‐catalyst in a Zn x Cd 1− x S system for visible‐light photocatalytic H 2 production was investigated for the first time. The loading of Ni or NiS enhanced the photocatalytic activity of Zn x Cd 1− x S because they could promote the electron transfer at the interface with Zn x Cd 1− x S and catalyze the H 2 evolution. Surprisingly, Ni(OH) 2 ‐loaded Zn x Cd 1− x S exhibits a very high photocatalytic H 2 ‐production rate of 7160 μmol h −1 g −1 with a quantum efficiency of 29.5 % at 420 nm, which represents one of the most efficient metal sulfide photocatalysts without a Pt co‐catalyst to date. This outstanding activity arises from the pronounced synergetic effect between Ni(OH) 2 and metallic Ni formed in situ during the photocatalytic reaction. However, the loading of NiO deactivated the activity of Zn x Cd 1− x S because of their unmatched conduction band positions. This paper reports the optimization of the Zn x Cd 1− x S system by selecting an appropriate Ni‐based co‐catalyst, Ni(OH) 2 , from a series of Ni species to achieve the highest photocatalytic H 2 ‐production activity for the first time and also reveals the roles of these Ni species in the photocatalytic activity.