CoSe2/CdS-diethylenetriamine coupled with P clusters for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

The development of a highly active and stable non-noble-metal hydrogen-producing catalyst for renewable energy reserves and conversion remains a serious challenge. In this work, we described a novel binary solution (DETA/H2O) reaction for preparing a composite catalyst composed of CdS nanoparticles grown on CoSe2 nanobelts. The composite catalyst (CoSe2/CdSDETA) exhibits excellent catalytic activity for a hydrogen evolution reaction in an EY sensitized 15% (v/v) TEOA aqueous solution under visible light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm). Moreover, the catalytic activity of the P-doped sample (CoSe2/CdSDETA|P) was further improved. The excellent performance is ascribed to the synergy among DETA and atomic-level P-doping. Some essential characterization methods such as XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-vis diffuse spectroscopy, XPS, photoelectrochemistry, PL, etc. were carried out to support the related results and a possible reaction mechanism was put forward.