Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution by Loading Cd(0.5)Zn(0.5)S QDs onto Ni(2)P Porous Nanosheets

Ni(2)P has been decorated on CdS nanowires or nanorods for efficient photocatalytic H(2) production, whereas the specific surface area remains limited because of the large size. Here, the composites of Cd(0.5)Zn(0.5)S quantum dots (QDs) on thin Ni(2)P porous nanosheets with high specific surface area were constructed for noble metal-free photocatalytic H(2) generation. The porous Ni(2)P nanosheets, which were formed by the interconnection of 15–30 nm-sized Ni(2)P nanoparticles, allowed the uniform loading of 7 nm-sized Cd(0.5)Zn(0.5)S QDs and the loading density being controllable. By tuning the content of Ni(2)P, H(2) generation rates of 43.3 μM h(− 1) (1 mg photocatalyst) and 700 μM h(− 1) (100 mg photocatalyst) and a solar to hydrogen efficiency of 1.5% were achieved for the Ni(2)P-Cd(0.5)Zn(0.5)S composites. The effect of Ni(2)P content on the light absorption, photoluminescence, and electrochemical property of the composite was systematically studied. Together with the band structure calculation based on density functional theory, the promotion of Ni(2)P in charge transfer and HER activity together with the shading effect on light absorption were revealed. Such a strategy can be applied to other photocatalysts toward efficient solar hydrogen generation.