High efficiency hydrogen production with visible light layered MgAl-LDH coupled with CoSx

Abstract The research work of photocatalytic decomposition of water to produce hydrogen is wider and wider. A highly efficient composites photocatalyst was prepared by hydrothermal method. The composite photocatalyst was composed of spherical CoSx and layered nanosheets of MgAl-LDH. The composite photocatalyst retained the advantage of a wide range of visible light absorption, and can effectively prevent the photocorrosion phenomenon caused by sulfide. The hydrogen production of composite photocatalyst was 262.5 μmol. Compared with MgAl-LDH and CoSx, there was a significant improvement. The combination of the two accelerated the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, which made the hydrogen production effect of the composite catalyst obvious. To investigate the stability of the composite catalyst, a cycle test was carried out and it showed good stability during the test. According to PL, XPS, XRD, TEM, SEM, UV–Vis DRS and electrochemical characterization, the possible reaction mechanism was proposed. A high performance photocatalyst for hydrogen production with low cost MgAl-LDH combined with CoSx had been explored, which provided a convenient way for research work.