Nitrogen-doped hydrogenated TiO2 modified with CdS nanorods with enhanced optical absorption, charge separation and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

In the practical photocatalytic hydrogen evolution process, the light absorption, charge carrier separation and optimizing the activation ability of reactive molecules are the pivotal factors that restrict photocatalytic performance. Hence, we rationally engineer novel CdS/Ti3+/N-TiO2 (TNTC) composite photocatalyst via integrating the evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) and in-situ hydrothermal method. In the TNTC system, Ti3+/O-v and doped N respectively locate at below the conduction band (CB) and above the valence band (VB) of TiO2 to shorten the band gap from two inverse directions, thereby improving light utilization efficiency. The type II heterojunction TNTC with interfacial coupling effect can foster the spatial charge separation and the Ti3+ can form hydrogenation layer to reduce the activation barrier of H-2, which all can improve H-2 evolution capacity. Integrating with the above advantageous qualifies, the 10%CdS/Ti3+/N-TiO2 (TNTC10) has the best photo-catalytic H-2 evolution activity (1118.5 mu mol), which is about 15 and 40 times higher than that of CdS (71.6 mu mol) and Ti3+/N-TiO2 (TNT, 27.7 mu mol), respectively. Furthermore, we also test the photocatalytic activity of 10%CdS/N-TiO2 (NTC10) to facilitate comparison with TNTC10. Expectedly, the photocatalytic activity of TNTC10 is 6 times higher than that of NTC10 (178.3 mu mol), uncovering that the Ti3+ hydrogenated layer plays a pivotal role in boosting the efficiency of H-2 evolution. It is hoped that this work will provide a new cognitive perspective and understanding for building new-fashioned hydrogen evolution photocatalysts.