Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic H2 Evolution from Water on Noble-Metal-Free CdS-Nanoparticle-Dispersed Mo2C@C Nanospheres

Developing efficient noble-metal-free catalysts for photocatalysis under the irradiation of visible light, which is the main part of sunlight (44%), would represent a significant step toward making photocatalysis a more competitive strategy for solar energy utilization. Herein, nanospheres (∼200 nm) containing dimolybdenum carbide and carbon (Mo2C@C) were used to support CdS nanoparticles (∼5 nm) to form a noble-metal-free CdS/Mo2C@C photocatalyst. CdS/Mo2C@C shows an enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic H2 evolution from water, with a H2 evolution rate of 554.3 μmol h–1, which is about 2 times higher than that on the widely used noble-metal-based CdS/Pt photocatalyst. Improved absorption of the visible light and separation of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs could be the origins for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of CdS/Mo2C@C. The findings of this work will open a new door for fabricating efficient noble-metal-free photocatalysts for visible-light-driven photocatalysis.