Photodeposition Synthesis of CdS@Ni₂P Composites for Efficacious Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Noble-metal-free semiconductor composites are very valuable for efficient water splitting driven by visible light. In this paper, CdS@Ni2P was successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal method followed by in situ photodeposition. The results showed that the best photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of the composite is 287 μmol h–1, which is about 98.3 times that of pure CdS. The high activity of the material may be attributed to the intimate interface between the Ni2P cocatalyst and CdS nanorods for accelerating the separation and transport of photoelectrons. Further UV and PL tests found that Ni2P significantly extends the lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers and reduces charge recombination rates, resulting in improved photocatalytic H2 production performance. The potential mechanism of photocatalytic enhancement of CdS@Ni2P composite samples was proposed based on the experimental results and DFT calculation, which could lead to a neoteric approach for the efficient preparation of other photocatalytic materials.