Ni2P co-catalyst modification CdS enhancement hydrogen evolution and keeping strong stability under visible light

Photocatalytic hydrogen production is a technology to produce clean energy in line with the current social development. CdS is a photocatalyst with a suitable energy band structure. Ni2P is a typical co-catalyst with good electrical conductivity and promotes electron transfer. In this study, we prepared 2D/1D Ni2P/CdS composites by loading Ni2P nanosheets on CdS nanorods. By performing photoelectrochemical tests on the materials, we found that Ni2P loading helps to inhibit the photogenerated electron-hole recombination generated by CdS and improve the photogenerated carrier separation efficiency. Furthermore, the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of Ni2P/CdS was evaluated, and it was demonstrated that the incorporation of Ni2P into the CdS structure resulted in an improvement of the photocatalytic hydrogen production. At a Ni2P loading of 10 wt%, the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of Ni2P/CdS composites reaches a maximum value of 4.34 mmol h- 1 g- 1, which is 25.53 times higher than the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of pure CdS material. Moreover, we learned from cycling experiments that Ni2P loading helps to slow down the photocorrosion phenomenon of CdS and improve the photocatalytic stability of CdS.