Ultrafine Zn1−xCuxS (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.066) nanocrystallites for photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible light irradiation

Ultrafine Zn1−xCuxS nanocrystallites were fabricated in a controlled manner by a wet chemical method using thiourea as the complexing reagent. Zn0.951Cu0.049S exhibited high photocatalytic activity for H2 evolution without a cocatalyst under visible light irradiation, which is about 11 times higher than that of CdS prepared by the same procedure.