Enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution over CdS/Au/g-C3N4 composite photocatalyst under visible-light irradiation

A novel heterojunction structured composite photocatalyst CdS/Au/g-C3N4 has been developed by depositing CdS/Au with a core (Au)-shell (CdS) structure on the surface of g-C3N4. The photocatalytic hydrogen production activity of the developed photocatalyst was evaluated under visible-light irradiation (λ > 420 nm) using methanol as a sacrificial reagent. As a result, its activity is about 125.8 times higher than that of g-C3N4 and is even much higher than that of Pt/g-C3N4. The enhancement in photocatalytic activity is attributed to efficient separation of the photoexcited charges due to the anisotropic junction in the CdS/Au/g-C3N4 system.