Search

β-SiC is a suitable photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction because of its proper band structure (2.36 eV) and high chemical stability. Porousβ-SiC has a large surface area that can increase the number of reactive sites and shorten the charge transport pathways between the material interior and surface, thereby significantly improving the hydrogen evolution reaction performance. In the present study, hierarchical macroporousβ-SiC monolith composed of nanocrystals was directly prepared using SiO2opal as both template and precursor via the magnesiothermic reduction method at 750 °C. An interfacial magnesiothermic reaction model was presented as well. Theβ-SiC sample exhibited high photoelectric conversion performance and stability as a catalyst for hydrogen evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient solar absorption and photoinduced charge separation are extremely important for solar-energy conversion on semiconductor photocatalysts. To advance the photocatalytic performance, we developed a general templated-assisted reverse cation exchange strategy to successfully synthesize hollow-structured CdS semiconductors with the textile structural surface. The crystal phase, particle morphology, optical/electrical properties, and photocatalytic performance of the as-syntheszied sample are investiagted by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, DSR, PL, ESR photoelectrochemical measurements, and Photocatalytic H 2 evolution test. The final CdS sample exhibits an enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of up to 965 μmol·g−1 h−1, 2.8 times higher than the reported CdS nanorods. Based on the experimental and characterization results, the improved photocatalytic activity of the cadmium sulfide semiconductor can be ascribed to the special hollow cubic structure with a thin shell, which can enhance the light-harvesting ability and provide abundant photocatalytic active sites for facilitating the separation of photogenerated electron/hole pairs. This synthetic strategy may pave a new path for the rational design of efficient sulfur-based semiconductor photocatalysts for solar driven H 2 production. Hollow-structured CdS cubes have been successfully synthesized via reverse cation exchange strategy for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production. [Display omitted] • CdS nanocubes were synthesized via templated-assisted cation exchange strategy. • CdS exhibits enhanced photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate of up to 965 μmol·g−1 h−1. • The photocatalytic performance is attributed to hollow structure of CdS nanocubes. • This strategy may pave a new way for rational design of efficient photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal sulfides have been considered as potential candidates for photocatalytic hydrogen production, but their practical applications are still limited by incident light utilization and charge separation despite the impressive advances in recent decades. To address these challenges, the construction of hollow nanostructure with exposing high active facets offers a desirable pathway for developing novel and high-efficiency photocatalysts. Here, by taking wurtzite CdS as an example, we first develop a general template-assisted cation exchange route for the preparation of hollow CdS nanostructures with diverse exposed facets. The obtained hollow CdS octahedrons with dominant {101} facets exhibit superior photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate under visible-light irradiation compared with common CdS nanorods. According to the characterization results and density functional theory calculations, the excellent photocatalytic performance is attributed to the construction of hollow nano-octahedrons with exposed {101} active facets, which facilitates efficient light harvesting and photoinduced charge separation of CdS photocatalyst. The present approach gives a reference to design advanced semiconductors with remarkable photocatalytic activity for realizing efficient solar-to-chemical conversion. [Display omitted] • Hollow CdS with different exposed facets were successfully synthesized via a general template-assisted cation exchange strategy. • Hollow-structured CdS octahedrons with exposed {101} facets exhibit superior photocatalytic H2 evolution rate. • The improved photocatalytic performance is attributed to the construction of hollow octahedrons with {101} active facets. • This strategy is exploited to other sulfide-based photocatalysts for realizing efficient solar-to-chemical conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A composite photocatalyst of Ag 3 PO 4 particles decorated on modified crispy g-C 3 N 4 flake was fabricated. • Photocatalytic oxygen evolution over Z-scheme heterojunction is roughly 7-fold higher than that in Ag 3 PO 4. • Highly efficient oxygen-evolving performance is mainly attributed to accelerated interfacial charge transfer. • Surface modification and nitrogen atmosphere favor well-organized g-C 3 N 4 nanostructures and enhanced photocatalytic activity. Searching for highly efficient photocatalysts for water oxidation is the footstone for the development of overall water splitting systems and has been actively pursued. The construction of artificial Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts has been conclusively proven to be effective in boosting charge transport property and in improving the OER performance. Herein, Ag 3 PO 4 particles anchored on modified crispy g-C 3 N 4 flakes have been successfully fabricated. KOH-assisted surface modification of g-C 3 N 4 flakes and intimate interfacial contact favor the accelerated charge transfer and highly improved OER efficiency. Ultrafast spectroscopy results reveal that modified g-C 3 N 4 with crispy nanostructures possesses more trap-induced long-lived photogenerated holes, which are extremely helpful to combine with photo-generated electrons from the conduction band (CB) position of Ag 3 PO 4 via the specific Z-scheme configuration, leaving more holes in the valence band (VB) of Ag 3 PO 4 for the enhanced OER. Superb oxygen-evolving performance highlight the great promise of Z-scheme Ag 3 PO 4 -based heterojunctions in solar-driven photocatalytic water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]