Large-scale synthesis of noble-metal-free phosphide/CdS composite photocatalysts for enhanced H2 evolution under visible light irradiation

Photocatalytic H-2 evolution under visible light irradiation is an ideal process for solving energy shortage. The low cost of photocatalysts and high efficiency of hydrogen evolution are the two key factors to realize the industrialization of the process. The substitution of a noble-metal cocatalyst with a non-noble-metal catalyst can significantly reduce the cost of the photocatalyst. The large-scale synthesis and assembly of semiconductors and non-noble-metal cocatalysts to form photo catalysts through a simple method can further decrease the cost of photocatalysis. Here, we report a large-scale and low-cost coprecipitation method to form phosphide/CdS photocatalysts to realize photocatalytic H-2 evolution. CoP and MoP cocatalysts significantly enhanced the photocatalytic production of hydrogen. The optimal H-2 production rates on CoP/CdS and MoP/CdS were 140 and 78 mu mol/h, which were 7.0 and 4.0 times higher than those obtained with bare CdS, respectively, and 2.0 times and 1.1 times higher than those obtained with 1.0% Pt/CdS, respectively. This work provides a practical method for the large-scale preparation of low-cost photocatalysts. (C) 2018, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.