Synergism of 1D CdS/2D Modified Ti3C2Tx MXene Heterojunctions for Boosted Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Rational design and controllable synthesis of visible-light-responsive photocatalysts that exhibit both good hydrogen-producing efficiency and stability in the water splitting reaction are undoubtedly a challenge. Here we report an integrated CdS nanorod/oxygen-terminated Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheet heterojunction with a high catalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. By incorporating one-dimensional (1D) CdS nanorods onto annealed ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) MXene nanosheets, the mixed-dimensional 1D/2D heterojunction achieved a hydrogen-evolving rate of 8.87 mmol.g(-1). h(-1), much higher than that of bulk CdS and CdS/unmodified MXene hybrid catalysts. The enhanced HER activity and stability of the designed heterojunction catalyst are attributed to the presence of oxygen-containing terminal groups on the surface of thermally treated Ti3C2Tx MXene, extended light absorption spectra as well as the precisely constructed intimate Schottky contact, implying an accelerated interfacial charge transfer and efficient, long-term photocatalytic hydrogen production performance. The results demonstrate that oxygen-terminated 2D MXene can be well utilized as a functional platform for the development of novel heterojunction photocatalysts.