Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Over CdS ‐based Photocatalysts

Semiconductor-based photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting is deemed to be one of most promising routes toward the large-scale conversion and storage of abundant yet intermittent solar energy. Among various semiconductors, cadmium sulfide (CdS) has attracted wide attention due to its visible-light-driven high photocatalytic activity. However, CdS always suffers from serious photocorrosion and fast charge recombination, which limits its potential of large-scale application. Generally, employing hole sacrificial agents (electron donors) and constructing heterostructures are the most common approaches to addressing these issues and have obtained enormous achievements over the past few years. This review summarizes the recent progresses in developing CdS-based photocatalytic systems for solar hydrogen production. We begin with a brief introduction to the fundamentals of photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting. We then highlight the recent advances of the photocatalytic systems with different additives for hydrogen-production half-reactions. Finally, CdS photocatalyst with advanced heterostructure designs for enhanced photocatalytic properties, in terms of both activity and stability, was elaborated. We conclude this chapter with our understanding, remarks, and perspectives on the design of CdS-based photocatalysts in the future that could enable more efficient and stable hydrogen production from water splitting.