Boosting photocatalytic hydrogen production via interfacial engineering over a Z-scheme core/shell heterojunction

Designing high efficacy photocatalysts is a promising way to improve solar fuel production efficiency. In this work, we prepared a core/shell composite of loose ZnCr layered double hydroxide nanosheets modified CdS nanorods for efficient visible light driven photocatalytic hydrogen production. The highest hydrogen production rate achieved 425.8 mu mol.h(-1) without adding any noble metal cocatalyst under the visible light stimulus, which is 22.4 times that of 1 wt.% Pt-modified CdS. The corresponding apparent quantum yield is 13.9% at 420 nm. It is revealed that the synergistic actions of the interfacial redox shuttle of Cr3+/Cr delta+ and the interfacial electric field enable the efficient separation of photoinduced charge carriers between two components via a Z-scheme energy band configuration. Meanwhile, with the hydrogen evolution contribution of Zn2+, a remarkable improvement in photocatalytic performance was achieved in contrast to bare CdS. This work provides an effective methodology to construct highly efficient and economically viable photocatalysts for solar H-2 production and mechanistic study.

Automated summary

Designing high efficacy photocatalysts is a promising approach to enhance solar fuel production efficiency. In this study, a core/shell composite of loose ZnCr layered double hydroxide nanosheets modified CdS nanorods was prepared for efficient visible light driven photocatalytic hydrogen production. With synergistic actions and a Z-scheme energy band configuration, the highest hydrogen production rate achieved was 22.4 times higher than that of Pt-modified CdS, demonstrating the potential of this composite for solar H-2 production.