The synergy between electronic anchoring effect and internal electric field in CdS quantum dots decorated dandelion-like Fe-CeO2 nanoflowers for improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

A series of dandelion-like Fe-CeO2/CdS (FeCex/Cdy) nanoflowers with different molar ratios of Fe-CeO2 to CdS are synthesized by solvothermal method for the first time. The FeCex/Cdy nanoflowers are assembled by a large number of nanoparticles with the diameter of about 3 nm, and the introduction of Fe ions and the couple of CdS quantum dots (QDs) efficiently enhanced the relative percentage of Ce3+ in CeO2. The as-obtained FeCe1/Cd1 heterostructure exhibits the highest photocatalytic H2 evolution ability of 108.9 μmol/h, which is 20.5, 6.1 and 7.1 times higher than CeO2, Fe-CeO2 and CdS, respectively. This significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance can be mainly attributed to the synergy between the electronic anchoring effect of Fe3+/Fe2+ and Ce4+/Ce3+ redox couples and the internal electric field constructed by the II-type heterojunction between Fe-CeO2 and CdS. This work provides a new idea for the design of efficient photocatalysts by combining the advantages of heterostructure and ion anchoring effect.