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Microwave hydrothermal synthesis of WO3(H2O)0.333/CdS nanocomposites for efficient visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

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Abstract

WO3(H2O)0.333/CdS (WS) nanocomposites are obtained via a rapid microwave hydrothermal method, and they are served as visible light-driven photocatalysts for the H2 generation. By using Pt as the cocatalyst, the WS nanocomposite with 70 wt.% CdS reaches the H2 evolution rate of 10.32 mmol·g−1·h−1, much quicker than those of WO3(H2O)0.333 and CdS. The cycling test reveals the good photocatalytic stability of the WS nanocomposite. The carrier transfer mechanism of WS nanocomposites can be explained by the Z-scheme mechanism. The existence of the Z-scheme heterojunction greatly helps to separate photogenerated carriers and thus improves the photocatalytic activity. The present work provides a rapid synthesis method for preparing Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts, and may be helpful for the green production of hydrogen.

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Acknowledgement

Financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21671007) was gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids (Ministry of Education), College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241000, China

    Tingting Ma, Zhen Li, Wen Liu, Jiaxu Chen, Moucui Wu & Zhenghua Wang

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  1. Tingting Ma
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  2. Zhen Li
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  3. Wen Liu
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  4. Jiaxu Chen
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  5. Moucui Wu
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  6. Zhenghua Wang
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Correspondence to Zhenghua Wang.

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Ma, T., Li, Z., Liu, W. et al. Microwave hydrothermal synthesis of WO3(H2O)0.333/CdS nanocomposites for efficient visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Front. Mater. Sci. 15, 589–600 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-021-0581-5

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