Remarkable photoelectrochemical activity of titanium dioxide nanorod arrays sensitized with transition metal sulfide nanoparticles for solar hydrogen production

The synthesis of a cost-effective and efficient catalyst is vital for accelerating the rate of photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. Here, titanium dioxide nanorods sensitized by nickel sulfide, cadmium sulfide, and zinc sulfide nanoparticles (ZnS/CdS/[email protected]2) were developed as a photoanode material via a hydrothermal process followed by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction. The morphological analysis of ZnS/CdS/[email protected]2 revealed the nanorods (TiO2) phase in which NiS, CdS, and ZnS nanoparticles are distributed homogeneously. The photoelectrochemical performance analysis of ZnS/CdS/[email protected]2 furnished a maximum photocurrent density of 6.1 mA/cm2, which is 7.6 times higher than that of pure TiO2 (0.8 mA/cm2). Additionally, the sensitized TiO2 nanorod arrays as a photoanode show high photoelectrochemical hydrogen production of 491.52 μmol/cm2, which is 4.9 times higher than that of pristine TiO2 (99.61 μmol/cm2) over 6 h under simulated solar irradiation. These results suggested the potential for the synthesis and usage of novel hybrids of TiO2 nanorods decorated with transition metal chalcogenides for efficient photoelectrochemical hydrogen production.