Efficient H2 evolution on Co3S4/Zn0.5Cd0.5S nanocomposites by photocatalytic synergistic reaction

To achieve high photocatalytic efficiency of H-2 evolution, promoting the utilization rate of photogenerated charge carriers by photocatalytic synergistic reaction is an efficient strategy. In this work, Co3S4/Zn0.5Cd0.5S nanocomposites with Co3S4 derived from ZIF-67 were successfully prepared through a simple hydrothermal method. Under visible light irradiation, Co3S4/Zn0.5Cd0.5S exhibited high photocatalytic activities in a H-2 production system coupled with selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol. Moreover, 3% Co3S4/Zn0.5Cd0.5S showed the optimal activity (7.67 mmol g(-1) h(-1)), greatly improved compared to that of Zn0.5Cd0.5S (1.62 mmol g(-1) h(-1)). The reasons for the improved photocatalytic performance were seriously investigated by a variety of measurements and can be attributed to the enhanced visible light absorption and more efficient electron-hole pair separation. This study provides a good strategy to construct photocatalysts with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and efficient charge separation for highly efficient H-2 production.