Design and fabrication of C-Mn0.5Cd0.5S/Cu3P ternary heterojunction catalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water splitting is a promising strategy to solve the energy demand of human beings. Here, we first designed a C-Mn0.5Cd0.5S/Cu3P ternary heterojunction catalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen production. The results show that the combination of C and Cu3P can effectively improve the photocatalytic activity of Mn0.5Cd0.5S. C-Mn0.5Cd0.5S loading with 5 wt% Cu3P exhibits the highest hydrogen evolution rate (44.1 mmol g(-1) h(-1)), which is 3.2 and 2.8 times higher than that of pure Mn0.5Cd0.5S (13.7 mmol g(-1) h(-1)) and Mn0.5Cd0.5S/3 wt%Pt (15.6 mmol g(-1) h(-1)), respectively. In addition, it shows a high hydrogen evolution rate (19.6 mmol g(-1) h(-1)) under visible light (>= 420 nm) irritation and the apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) is detected to be 3.2% at 420 nm. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the good conductivity of C and the formation of p-n heterojunction, which is beneficial for light harvesting and the separation and transportation of charge carriers. Besides, a possible mechanism is proposed. This work provides an effective way to improve the photocatalytic activity of Mn0.5Cd0.5S by using non noble metal co-catalysts. (c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.