Crystal facets engineering of ZnxCd1-xS for enhancing photocatalytic H2 evolution performance

Crystal facets engineering has been demonstrated to be an effective way to enhance the photocatalytic activity of semiconductor photocatalysts. Herein, the dendrite Zn0·2Cd0·8S photocatalyst was prepared by one-pot hydrothermal method with hydrofluoric acid (HF) as a morphology regulating agent to promote the formation of {002} crystal facets. The Zn0·2Cd0·8S photocatalyst (ZCS-0.8) with a high specific surface area added with 0.8 mL of HF has a highly efficient photocatalytic activity and cycle stability. The hydrogen evolution rate of ZCS-0.8 reaches 3100.3 μmol h−1 g−1, which is 7 times higher than that of ZCS without HF. The result indicates the superiority of {002} facets in ZCS photocatalyst, and the controllable exposure of the active surface can be achieved by adding the appropriate amount of HF, thereby upgrading subsequent hydrogen evolution performance. This work demonstrate that the dendritic ZCS-0.8 has a good application prospect in hydrogen production by water splitting, and provides a new strategy for the design and development of high-performance photocatalysts.