Cd0.5Zn0.5S/Ni2P noble-metal-free photocatalyst for high-efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production: Ni2P boosting separation of photocarriers

Tianpeng Yu ^a, Yingying Si ^a, Zunhang Lv ^a, Kaihang Wang ^a, Qiang Zhang ^b, Xin Liu ^a, Guixue Wang ^a, Guangwen Xie ^a,*, Luhua Jiang ^a,**

^a College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, No. 53 Zhengzhou Road, Qingdao, 266042, China

^b College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, No. 53 Zhengzhou Road, Qingdao, 266042, China

Abstract:

Establishing efficient co-catalytic loaded semiconductors for efficient charge separation is a hopeful way for enhance photocatalytic water splitting hydrogen evolution. Herein, we successfully constructed the Cd0.5Zn0.5S/Ni2P (CZS/Ni2P) nanocomposites via two-step hydrothermal method. The CZS/Ni2P composites show much improved activity than the origin CZS for photocatalytic H2 generation. When the content of Ni2P loaded on the Cd0.5Zn0.5S (CZS) is 0.3 mol%, the photocatalyst achieves the highest photocatalytic hydrogen generation rate of 41.26 mmol g_1 h_1 under visible light. The NieS bonds on the close contact interface between CZS and Ni2P can be act as electron-bridge to provide a channel for electron transfer. During the photocatalysis processing, Ni2P can be used as electron traps to attract electrons from CZS, resulting in the improvement of the photocatalytic performance.

E-mail addresses: xiegw@qust.edu.cn (G. Xie), luhuajiang@qust.edu.cn (L. Jiang).

doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.10.126