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Research on cheap co-catalysts to increase hydrogen evolution and improve catalyst stability is an important developmental direction in the field of photocatalytic hydrogen release. In this work, Mo15S19/CdS nanocomposites were synthesized via a facile multistep synthesis method. On account of the larger specific surface area, more active sites and more favorable photogenic carrier separation of the composite photocatalyst, the 5%-Mo15S19/CdS obtained the highest hydrogen production capacity. The rate reached 142.9 μmol h−1 (10 mg), which is 8.4 times that of the pristine CdS nanorods. The introduction of Mo15S19 can reduce the surface resistance and improve the transportation of photogenerated electrons on the surface of CdS, resulting in a significant reduction in the recombination rate of the photogenerated electrons, thereby promoting the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of CdS. This work not only provides an effective co-catalyst to improve the rate of photocatalytic water splitting of CdS, but also provides a reference for the development of novel high efficiency catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the efficiency of charge separation is an important aspect in photocatalysis. In this work, the hybrid nanostructure of α-Ni(OH)2/Zn0.5Cd0.5S has been prepared by a simple two-step method for the first time. Here, designed/constructed with α-Ni(OH)2 over Zn–Cd–S, the catalyst efficiently boosts hydrogen evolution in photocatalytic hydrogen production. With a 25% content of α-Ni(OH)2 in the ZSN25 composite under visible light (λ≥ 420 nm) irradiation, remarkable hydrogen production of 22.45 mmol g−1 h−1 has been achieved. In addition, we found that the activities could be improved by means of controlling the formation of α-Ni(OH)2 species. The reason is that the interface between α-Ni(OH)2 and Zn0.5Cd0.5S provides a fast charge transfer channel to reduce the recombination of photogenerated carrier. Also, the formation of this interface is largely related to the content of α-Ni(OH)2. The Tafel slope, EIS and PL spectra support enhanced photocatalytic energy in the α-Ni(OH)2/Zn0.5Cd0.5S charge transfer state and faster hydrogen evolution kinetics. These nanocomposites of Zn0.5Cd0.5S modified by α-Ni(OH)2 are of great significance for renewable hydrogen generation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]