Enhancement of photocatalytic H2 evolution on hexagonal CdS by a simple calcination method under visible light irradiation

An easy-handling calcination method has been used to eliminate the trap energy levels of hexagonal cadmium sulfide (CdS). The treated CdS exhibited extremely high photocatalytic activity for H-2 production under visible light irradiation. The rate of photocatalytic H-2 evolution has been dramatically enhanced by 55.8 times to 118 mu mol h(-1) and further improved by 6.3 times to 749 mu mol h(-1) after loading with 0.2 wt% Pt co-catalyst. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.