Self-assembly of zinc cadmium sulfide nanorods into nanoflowers with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production activity

ZnCdS solid solutions have been extensively studied due to their excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance. The change of the molar ratio of precursors affects the morphology and structure of ZnCdS, with the subsequent influence on the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and the hydrogen production ability. The effect of the amount of nonmetallic elements on the photocatalytic activity has been scarcely explored. In this work, the morphology of ZnCdS is regulated by varying the amount of thioacetamide as S precursor. The structure of the samples is thoroughly analyzed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. Their optical properties, photocatalytic hydrogen evolution ability, and photoelectrochemical performance are evaluated. Upon increasing the amount of thioacetamide, the crystallinity improves, the ZnCdS nanorods self-assemble into nanoflowers, and the number of defects decreases. The highest photocatalytic activity is achieved for a (Zn + Cd):S molar ratio of 1:3.5. Moreover, the photocatalyst exhibits excellent stability after six cycles. The one-dimensional nanorod structure contributes to the formation of a space charge region that drives the charge carriers along the nanorods. The self-assembled ZnCdS nanoflowers provide extra channels for the charge transfer, improving the separation of electron–hole pairs.