Efficient Hydrogen Evolution under Visible Light by Bimetallic Phosphide NiCoP Combined with g‐C3N4/CdS S‐Scheme Heterojunction

Abstract Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is a promising method to convert solar energy. Here, the heterojunction structure of g‐C 3 N 4 /CdS was modified by NiCoP prepared by one‐step method for the first time, and the photocatalyst NiCoP‐g‐C 3 N 4 /CdS was successfully designed and prepared, which can effectively separate and transfer photogenerated electrons and efficient hydrogen evolution under visible light. Moreover, NiCoP‐g‐C 3 N 4 /CdS photocatalyst has abundant surface‐active sites, and its photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance has been greatly improved. When NiCoP content was 5 % in NiCoP‐g‐C 3 N 4 /CdS, the catalytic activity was the highest, and the hydrogen production rate reached an astonishing 55.63 mmol h −1 g −1 , which was 23.35 times that of CdS (2.38 mmol h −1 g −1 ) and 11.51 times that of g‐C 3 N 4 /CdS (4.84 mmol h −1 g −1 ). In addition, NiCoP‐g‐C 3 N 4 /CdS photocatalyst has excellent stability for hydrogen production. The materials were characterized and analyzed by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, UV‐Vis DRS, FTIR, UPS, N 2 adsorption‐desorption process and electrochemical test etc. At the same time, the possible mechanism of NiCoP‐g‐C 3 N 4 /CdS photocatalytic hydrogen production reaction is proposed. This study provides a new idea for the rational design of heterojunction photocatalyst and transition metal phosphide cocatalyst.