Photodeposition of ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets onto cubic CdS for efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution

In this work, the photocatalyst composed of ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets onto the surface of cubic CdS nanoparticles with an average diameter of 7~10 nm has been successfully fabricated through a facile and mild photodeposition route. The ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets as a cocatalyst were demonstrated to greatly boost photocatalytic H2 evolution over cubic CdS upon visible light irradiation. It was clearly revealed that both the cubic CdS substrate and structure of ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets play critical roles in the observed efficient H2 evolution. The cubic CdS offers a strong adherence for ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets to form a well contact interface, across which the photogenerated charge transfer and charge separation are achieved. The ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets introduce a high density of unsaturated active S atoms for H2 evolution.