Non-noble metal ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets modified Mn0.2Cd0.8S heterostructures for efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution with visible light irradiation

A series of non-noble metal ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets modified Mn0.2Cd0.8S heterostructured composites were prepared by an ultrasonic assisted hydrothermal synthesis process. Comparing with the pristine Mn0.2Cd0.8S composite, the obtained ultrathin MoS2/Mn0.2Cd0.8S composites exhibited a significantly improved photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution from water with visible light response. The optimized photocatalytic activity toward MoS2/Mn0.2Cd0.8S composite is around 8 times of the pristine Mn0.2Cd0.8S composite. Moreover, the ultrathin MoS2/Mn0.2Cd0.8S composites displayed good photocatalytic stability in the course of photochemical reaction. The excellent photocatalytic activity of the ultrathin MoS2/Mn0.2Cd0.8S composites might be attributed to the formed heterojunctions in composites itself and the sufficient active edge sites in MoS2 phase. A possible photocatalytic mechanism was tentatively proposed. Considering its excellent photocatalytic activity and good photochemical stability, the obtained ultrathin MoS2/Mn0.2Cd0.8S composite has potential application in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water by using solar energy.