Fabrication of Ni2P Cocatalyzed CdS Nanorods with a Well-Defined Heterointerface for Enhanced Photocatalytic H2 Evolution

Abstract

Developing non-noble metal photocatalysts for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is crucial for exploiting renewable energy. In this study, a photocatalyst of Ni2P/CdS nanorods consisting of cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanorods (NRs) decorated with Ni2P nanoparticles (NPs) was fabricated using an in-situ solvothermal method with red phosphor (P) as the P source. Ni2P NPs were tightly anchored on the surface of CdS NRs to form a core-shell structure with a well-defined heterointerface, aiming to achieve a highly efficient photocatalytic H2 generation. The as-synthesized 2%Ni2P/CdS NRs photocatalyst exhibited the significantly improved photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of 260.2 μmol∙h−1, more than 20 folds higher than that of bare CdS NRs. Moreover, the as-synthesized 2%Ni2P/CdS NRs photocatalyst demonstrated an excellent stability, even better than that of Pt/CdS NRs. The photocatalytic performance enhancement was ascribed to the core-shell structure with the interfacial Schottky junction between Ni2P NPs and CdS NRs and the accompanying fast and effective photogenerated charge carriers’ separation and transfer. This work provides a new strategy for designing non-noble metal photocatalysts to replace the noble catalysts for photocatalytic water splitting.

Preparation of Palladium‐Doped Nickel Phosphide Nanoparticles as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

“…These observations are consistent with previously reported XPS signals for Ni 2 P NPs [14] . The P 2p spectrum of Ni 2 P NPs shows P 2p 3/2 and P 2p 1/2 peaks of the metal phosphide and oxidized P at 129.7 and 134.1 eV, respectively [14a–c] . The high‐resolution XPS spectra of the Pd 3d region in the Pd‐doped Ni 2 P NPs indicate that the Pd dopants existed in a zerovalent state.…”

Visible‐Light Driven Z‐Scheme Water Splitting over NiS/CdS/PtOx/WO3 through Modulating Redox Mediator Environments

“…Elemental mapping images show that Ni (Figure S3) and Pt (Figure S4) were uniformly loaded over the surface of the catalyst. The upper part of Figure 1(d) shows the XPS spectra of Cd 3d [42] in CdS and NiS/CdS and W 4f [43] in WO 3 and PtO x /WO 3 , respectively. The Cd 3d XPS peak of NiS/CdS shows a slight shift towards lower energy as compared to CdS.…”

Effect of Phosphorus-Doped Phase-Modulated WS2 Nanosheets on CdS Nanorods for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

“…Additionally, by controlling the localized atomic structure through a variety of alteration strategies, the low-dimensional morphologies promote symmetry breaking to induce the structural difference, promoting charge carrier migration . The development of cutting-edge materials that can capture solar energy with unprecedented efficiency is at the heart of this technology, and in this direction, cadmium sulfide (CdS)- based photocatalytic water splitting has provided a ray of hope. − One-dimensional CdS nanostructures are revealed to be beneficial choices for high-efficiency catalysis when redox-potential adjustment and catalytic center density are taken into account. Although CdS has a remarkable ability to absorb visible light when compared to many other semiconductor materials, there are barriers preventing it from reaching its full potential .…”