In-situ hydrothermal fabrication of CdS/g-C3N4 nanocomposites for enhanced photocatalytic water splitting

An in-situ hydrothermal method has been developed to fabricate CdS/g-C3N4 nanocomposites, which shows a photocatalytic H2 evolution rate 21 times greater than pure g-C3N4 and 4 times greater than that of pure CdS. [Display omitted] •CdS/g-C3N4 hybrids were synthesized by a facile in-situ hydrothermal method.•The prepared CdS/g-C3N4 exhibited high visible-light photocatalytic H2 production activity.•The internal bonding of the two semiconductors can accelerate the charge transfer.•A possible mechanism for the enhanced photocatalytic performance was provided. In this work, a series of CdS/g-C3N4 nanocomposites with varying wt% CdS were prepared via an in-situ hydrothermal synthesis method. 10 wt% CdS/g-C3N4 nanocomposites displayed the highest rate of hydrogen evolution via photocatalytic water splitting. The H2 evolution rate of 10 wt% CdS/g-C3N4 is 21 times greater than pure g-C3N4 and 4 times greater than that of pure CdS. Key factors responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the improved charge separation and increased surface area of CdS/g-C3N4 nanocomposites. These findings may serve as a platform for the fabrication of other photocatalytic multi-material nanocomposites in the future.