NiMoP2 co-catalyst modified Cu doped ZnS for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

The design of a low-cost, efficient and durable co-catalyst for hydrogen evolution is of great significance for improving photocatalytic activity. In this work, a NiMoP2/Cu-ZnS composite photocatalyst was prepared by insitu growth of NiMoP2 on the surface of copper-doped zinc sulfide (Cu-ZnS). The test results showed that the hydrogen production rate of the optimized NiMoP2/Cu-ZnS under visible light irradiation was significantly improved. Among them, NiMoP2/Cu-ZnS-1 exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity (5.13 mmol center dot g- 1 center dot h-1), which was 2.47 times that of Cu-ZnS and maintained good stability during the reaction. The improvement of hydrogen production performance of the photocatalyst was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of Cu-ZnS and co-catalyst NiMoP2. The ohmic contact formed between Cu-ZnS and NiMoP2 could improve the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers and reduce the overpotential of H2 evolution. Besides, NiMoP2 was found to provide the active site for the reduction reaction, and accelerate the transfer efficiency of photogenerated electrons. This strategy opens up a new way for the construction of co-catalyst modified semiconductor materials to improve the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate.