ZnCdS/CoMoOS Photocatalyst with High Electron Flux at the Ternary Interface Enhances H₂ production

In this paper, CoMoOx–CoMoSx–CoSx (CoMoOS) were employed as cocatalysts for the first time to fabricate a ZnCdS/CoMoOS photocatalyst featuring a high electron flux ternary interface. The photocatalytic hydrogen production rate reached 52.31 mmol h–1 g–1, which is 6.4 times that of ZnCdS (8.147 mmol h–1 g–1). Furthermore, owing to the presence of the CoMoOS/ZnCdS ternary interface, ZnCdS is capable of transferring electrons to CoMoOS through this interface, thus accelerating the separation of electron–hole pairs. The close contact at the ternary interface can significantly shorten the transmission path between electronically excited photosensitive sites (ZnCdS) and the water splitting active site (CoMoOS). From the calculation of DFT, CoSx and CoMoSx exhibit the optimal Gibbs free energy (−0.14 eV) and water adsorption energy (−10.30 eV), respectively, thereby deducing that CoMoOx, CoMoSx, and CoSx serve as e– auxiliary shunt, H2O adsorption, and H* combination functions, respectively.