SrS/CdS composite powder as a novel photocatalyst for hydrogen production under visible light irradiation

In this paper a novel SrS/CdS composite powders were prepared by coprecipitation method. The physicochemical properties of the photocatalysts were analyzed by XRD, UV-Vis, BET, PL and SEM. Photocatalytic hydrogen production results showed that these composite powders can work efficiently under visible light without loading noble metal, and it was found that the ratio of SrS/CdS equaling to 2/8 has the best performance among various SrS/CdS composite powders, and the hydrogen evolution rate amounted to 123 mu mol/h under visible light irradiation. The apparent quantum yield for this photocalyst was calculated to be 2.85%, 4.59%, 9.63% at 420 nm, 440 nm and 480 nm respectively, and the apparent quantum yield under visible light was 5.83%. The reason for its high activity was analyzed. (C) 2010 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.