Co0.5CuP loaded Cd0.9Co0.1S hollow nanospheres with p-n heterojunction for photocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract

The development of efficient and stable composite photocatalysts is crucial for advancing the field of photocatalytic hydrogen production. In this paper, the Co_0.5CuP/Cd_0.9Co_0.1S composite photocatalyst was synthesized by the template etching method and the in-situ growth method. The Co_0.5CuP was tightly anchored on the surface of hollow structure Cd_0.9Co_0.1S nanospheres. The hydrogen production efficiency of the Co_0.5CuP/Cd_0.9Co_0.1S composite photocatalyst was enhanced by adjusting the doping proportion of cobalt and the loading quantity of Co_0.5CuP. Meanwhile, a p-n heterojunction was formed between Co_0.5CuP and Cd_0.9Co_0.1S, which enhanced the separation of photoinduced charge carriers and further boosted the efficiency of photocatalytic hydrogen production. The results showed that the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution efficiency of Co_0.5CuP/Cd_0.9Co_0.1S could reach 9.64 mmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹. In addition, the photocatalytic reaction mechanism of the Co_0.5CuP/Cd_0.9Co_0.1S composite photocatalyst was inferred based on the photoelectrochemical test and density functional theory calculation. This approach pioneers a novel pathway for the preparation of heterojunction photocatalysts by the combination of transition metal phosphide and hollow multi-metal sulfides.