SrTiO3:Al/Cd0.6Zn0.4S Type-II Heterojunction Photocatalysts for Efficient Solar Water Splitting

Constructing heterojunctions can effectively enhance separation and transfer efficiency of photogenerated carriers, which is a key strategy to enhance the photocatalytic H-2 production performance of photocatalysts. Here, SrTiO3:Al/Cd0.6Zn0.4S (SACZS) photocatalysts with a type-II heterojunction structure were fabricated for solar water splitting. The optimized photocatalyst (SACZS7%) exhibited a superior H-2 production rate of 3.55 mmol g(-1) h(-1), with STH values increased by 74.89 times and 1.93 times compared to SA and CZS, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the excellent visible-light absorption capability of Cd0.6Zn0.4S and the type-II heterojunction formed by the tight contact between strontium titanate and zinc cadmium sulfide is the main cause of enhancement of the catalytic performance of the photocatalysts. This study provides an efficient method for preparing high-performance SrTiO3-based photocatalysts by loading bimetallic sulfides to form type-II heterojunctions.