Redox Dual-Cocatalyst-Modified CdS Double-Heterojunction Photocatalysts for Efficient Hydrogen Production

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) as one of the most common visible-light-responsive photocatalysts has been widely investigated for hydrogen generation. However, its low solar–hydrogen conversion efficiency caused by fast carrier recombination and poor catalytic activity hinders its practical applications. To address this issue, we develop a novel and highly efficient nickel–cobalt phosphide and phosphate cocatalyst-modified CdS (NiCoP/CdS/NiCoPi) photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution. The dual-cocatalysts were simultaneously deposited on CdS during one phosphating step by using sodium hypophosphate as the phosphorus source. After the loading of the dual-cocatalysts, the photocurrent of CdS significantly increased, while its electrical impedance and photoluminescence emission dramatically decreased, which indicates the enhancement of charge carrier separation. It was proposed that the NiCoP cocatalyst accepts electrons and promotes hydrogen evolution, while the NiCoPi cocatalyst donates electrons and accelerates the oxidation of sacrificial agents (e.g., lactic acid). Consequently, the visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution of this composite photocatalyst greatly improved. The dual-cocatalyst-modified CdS with a loading content of 5 mol % showed a high hydrogen evolution rate of 80.8 mmol·g–1·h–1, which was 202 times higher than that of bare CdS (0.4 mmol·g–1·h–1). This is the highest enhancement factor for metal phosphide-modified CdS photocatalysts. It also exhibited remarkable stability in a continuous photocatalytic test with a total reaction time of 24 h.