Combining Heterojunction Engineering with Surface Cocatalyst Modification To Synergistically Enhance the Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Performance of Cadmium Sulfide Nanorods

Photocatalytic decomposition of water to hydrogen is an energy conversion process just like photosynthesis. Herein, for the first time, CoP-modified CdS/g-C 3 N 4 composite nanorods were synthesized on the basis of the concept of combining heterojunction engineering with cocatalyst modification. The obtained CoP-CdS/g-C 3 N 4 composites exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity and good photostability when applied as a photocatalyst for water reduction. The H 2 production rate reaches up to 23 536 μmol g –1 h –1, which was about 14 times higher than that of pure CdS. Furthermore, the stability of the composite was obviously improved. The outstanding performance of the CoP-CdS/g-C 3 N 4 composites can be attributed to the following reasons: (1) Intimate contact between CdS and g-C 3 N 4 can effectively promote the electron–hole pair spacial separation. (2) The introduction of CoP as cocatalyst on the CdS/g-C 3 N 4 nanorods can further extract photogenerated electrons from CdS/g-C 3 N 4 and lower the overpotential of H + reduction.