Noble metal-free 0D–1D NiCoP/Mn0.3Cd0.7S nanocomposites for highly efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible-light irradiation

Efficient and noble metal-free co-catalyst loading is an effective solution for separating and transferring photo-generated carriers and lowering the overpotential in photocatalytic H2 evolution activity. In this work, we designed and prepared a series of novel NiCoP/Mn0.3Cd0.7S (NCP/MCS) composites by modifying MCS nanorods with the co-catalyst NCP using a simple calcination method. Notably, the 10-NCP/MCS composite displays the optimum photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of 118.5 mmol g−1 h−1 under visible-light irradiation. This is approximately 3.39 times higher than that of pure MCS. The corresponding apparent quantum efficiency is 10.2% at 420 nm. The superior photocatalytic activity of the NCP/MCS composites can be attributed to the efficient separation of photogenerated carriers caused by the intimate heterojunction interface between NCP and MCS, smaller transfer resistance, and lower overpotential of NCP. Moreover, the NCP/MCS composites exhibit remarkable photostability. A plausible mechanism is proposed.