Engineering Zn1-xCdxS/CdS Heterostructures with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Various porous Zn1-xCdxS/CdS heteorostructures were achieved via in situ synthesis method with organic amines as the templates. Because of the larger radius of Cd2+ than that of Zn2+, CdS quantum dots are formed and distributed uniformly in the network of Zn1-xCdxS. The Zn1-xCdxS/CdS heterostructure with small Cd content (10 at%) derived from ethylenediamine shows very high H-2-evolution rate of 667.5 mu mol/h per 5 mg photocatalyst under visible light (lambda >= 420 nm) with an apparent quantum efficiency of 50.1% per 5 mg at 420 nm. Moreover, this Zn1-xCdxS/CdS heterostructure photocatalyst also shows an excellent photocatalytic stability over 100 h.