Visible‐Light‐Induced Generation of H2 by Nanocomposites of Few‐Layer TiS2 and TaS2 with CdS Nanoparticles

Abstract Graphene analogues of TaS 2 and TiS 2 (3–4 layers), prepared by Li intercalation followed by exfoliation in water, were characterized. Nanocomposites of CdS with few‐layer TiS 2 and TaS 2 were employed for the visible‐light‐induced H 2 evolution reaction (HER). Benzyl alcohol was used as the sacrificial electron donor, which was oxidized to benzaldehyde during the reaction. Few‐layer TiS 2 is a semiconductor with a band gap of 0.7 eV, and its nanocomposite with CdS showed an activity of 1000 μmol h −1 g −1 . The nanocomposite of few‐layer TaS 2 , in contrast, gave rise to higher activity of 2320 μmol h −1 g −1 , which was attributed to the metallic nature of few‐layer TaS 2 . The amount of hydrogen evolved after 20 and 16 h for the CdS/TiS 2 and CdS/TaS 2 nanocomposites was 14833 and 28132 μmol, respectively, with turnover frequencies of 0.24 and 0.57 h −1 , respectively.