Zinc-Blende CdS Nanocubes with Coordinated Facets for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

To develop catalysts that are efficient and stable under aggressive catalytic conditions, we detail a synthetic approach to producing zinc-blende cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanocubes (NCs), a metastable CdS polymorph that is terminated by coordinated facets. The hydrogen generation activity of these CdS NCs (∼11.6 mmol g –1 h –1 ) was nearly 4 times higher than that of wurtzite CdS nanoparticles (∼2.7 mmol g –1 h –1 ) and 2 times higher than that of irregularly shaped zinc-blende CdS nanoparticles (∼5.9 mmol g –1 h –1 ). Furthermore, the NCs also exhibited much improved long-term performance compared to the performance of these controlled photocatalysts. Finally, the density functional theory calculation and site-specific Au photodeposition demonstrate that the improved activity and stability can be attributed to the enhanced charge-flow steering and coordinated facet terminations.