0D/2D NiS/CdS nanocomposite heterojunction photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution activity

Abstract Photocatalytic H2 production under visible light irradiation is of paramount importance in energy transformation and ecotope conservation. Herein, a heterojunction composed of zero-dimension (0D) nickel sulfide (NiS) nanoparticle and cadmium sulfide (CdS) flower is tactfully constructed. Particularly, the obtained nanocomposite, whose molar ratio of NiS is 25%, yields a remarkable photocatalytic performance. Its H2-production rate reaches 18.1 mmol h-1 g-1, which is approximately 69.6 folds higher than that of pristine CdS. The excellent photocatalytic H2 evolution reaction (HER) activity can be mainly attributed to the intimate contact and efficient separation of photoinduced carriers across the interface. This work also presents a new direction in understanding the performance improvement in composite photocatalysts.