Controlled synthesis of MnxCd1–xS for enhanced visible-light driven photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Ternary sulfide solid solutions have garnered great attention in photocatalytic water splitting due to their tunable electronic property, low cost, and sufficient light-absorption performance. Herein, a series of Mn x Cd 1 – x S samples with different Mn/Cd molar ratios were synthesized by solvothermal method and used for photocatalytic hydrogen production under visible light. The Mn 0.2 Cd 0.8 S and Mn 0.4 Cd 0.6 S are demonstrated to be the solid solutions, while Mn 0.6 Cd 0.4 S and Mn 0.8 Cd 0.2 S consist of Mn x Cd 1 – x S solid solution and MnS. In addition, the Mn 0.4 Cd 0.6 S exhibits the highest photocatalytic performance with the H 2 production rate of 185.95 μmol·h −1 , which is 4.7 times higher than that of CdS. Without cocatalyst, the quantum efficiency of Mn 0.4 Cd 0.6 S reaches 2.04% at 400 nm. In addition, the Mn 0.4 Cd 0.6 S solid solution also shows high stability during the photocatalytic H 2 production reaction. The effect of Mn/Cd molar ratio on the microstructure, band gap structure, and photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of Mn x Cd 1– x S was revealed systematically. The excellent photocatalytic H 2 production performance of Mn 0.4 Cd 0.6 S solid solution is mainly due to its enhanced reducing potential and high charge separation efficiency.