In-situ growth of NiS co-catalyst on MnS/Mn0.3Cd0.7S heterojunction for boosting photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation

It makes sense to complete element regulation, formation of heterojunction and load of co-catalyst at the same time to improve photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. For this purpose, MnS/Mn 0.3 Cd 0.7 S heterojunction modified with NiS co-catalyst was prepared by a simple in-situ one-step method firstly. Based on this solvothermal method, CdS nanorods not just possess wider light absorbance range by the regulation of element. The charge separation of CdS is improved and recombination rate of electron-hole pairs is also decreased ascribed to the forming process of heterojunction and load of co-catalyst. In our work, the brand-new photocatalyst demonstrates optimal photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate (33.4 mmol g −1 h -1 ) under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm) which is almost 25.7 times higher than pristine CdS nanorods. This might enlighten a novel way to obtain hydrogen energy efficiently.