Microstructure regulation of Zn0.5Cd0.5S for enhancing the photocatalytic H2 production

As an excellent photocatalytic material, ZnxCd1-xS is widely used in photocatalytic H2 production due to its good visible light response and suitable band position. Based on our previous studies, this paper systematically studies the relationship of Zn0.5Cd0.5S (ZCS) material between microstructure and photocatalytic activity. By controlling the synthesized temperature, S sources and solvents, a series of ZCS nanomaterials with different morphology and crystalline phase have been prepared by hydrothermal, solvothermal and ion-exchange methods. When several sacrificial agents are added in photocatalytic H2 production, ZCS performs the highest activity synthesized by solvothermal method, about 12.15 mmol g−1 under 4 h's visible light illumination. To explore the difference of ZCS samples in photocatalytic performance, many factors are considered, such as crystal size, crystallinity, separation of photogenerated charge carriers (PCCs), specific surface area and defect sites, which play important roles in the improving photocatalytic activity. This work provides a new direction for the design of photocatalyst from the microstructural regulation to achieve highly efficient activity.