Noble metal-free near-infrared-driven photocatalyst for hydrogen production based on 2D hybrid of black Phosphorus/WS2

Efficient production of H-2 from water using solar energy holds tremendous promise for clean energy. The optimal photocatalysts require earth abundant elements for the cost-effective as well as harvesting broad spectrum of solar light, particularly in the near-infrared (NIR) region. Therefore, pathways leading to NIR-driven H-2 production activity on noble metal-free photocatalyst are of high scientific and economic interest. Here we report a binary two dimensional (2D) hybrid of black phosphorus (BP) and WS2 as noble metal-free NIR-driven photocatalyst for H-2 production. Under > 780 nm NIR light irradiation, substantive H-2 productions were observed. Compare to pure BP and WS2, the solid enhancement (21 and 50 folds) of photocatalytic activity was achieved in the BP/WS2 hybrid. The mechanism has been investigated by photoelectrochemical measurements, electron reductive reaction analyses, and transient absorption spectroscopy. It is indicated that 2D BP/WS2 hybrid has great potential as a noble metal-free NIR-driven photocatalyst for solar energy conversion.