CdS-Cu1.81S heteronanorods with continuous sublattice for photocatalytic hydrogen production

Photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) production is a cascade reaction that involves multiple limiting steps, such as light-harvesting, charge separation and transfer, redox reaction rate, and so on. Thus, there is a need to optimize each reaction node to promote the photocatalytic H2 production efficiency for the commercial application of sustainable energy. Herein, we report integrally designed CdS-Cu1.81S heteronanorods (HNRs) for photocatalytic H2 production driven by near-infrared to ultraviolet irradiation. The intraparticle p-n junction and the well-constructed heterointerface result in highly efficient charge separation and transfer between the heterogeneous domains. Further adjusting the redox reaction sites on the surface of CdS-Cu1.81S HNRs leads to a high photocatalytic H2 production rate of 2.714 mmol·h−1·g−1, representing 150-fold and 108-fold improvements compared with pristine Cu1.81S and CdS nanorods (NRs), respectively. Our work provides an alternative entry point for boosting the performance of noble-metal-free photocatalyst and highlights the importance of synergetic design.