Superior activity of the CuS-TiO2/Pt hybrid nanostructure towards visible light induced hydrogen production

A CuS-TiO2 hybrid nanostructure has been synthesized and employed for photocatalytic hydrogen production under UV-Vis light using Na2S and Na2SO3 as the sacrificial agents. The remarkable hydrogen production recorded for the CuS-TiO2 heterostructure was 458 mol h(-1) g(-1) and for CuS-TiO2/Pt was 746 mu mol h(-1) g(-1). The corresponding apparent quantum yield values are 1.01% and 1.55%. The addition of Pt to the hybrid structure acts as a metallic sandwich between two semiconductors CuS and TiO2 which assist in charge separation.