Efficient H2 evolution on Co3S4/Zn0.5Cd0.5S nanocomposites by photocatalytic synergistic reaction

To achieve high photocatalytic efficiency of H2 evolution, promoting the utilization rate of photogenerated charge carriers by photocatalytic synergistic reaction is an efficient strategy. In this work, Co3S4/Zn0.5Cd0.5S nanocomposites with Co3S4 derived from ZIF-67 were successfully prepared through a simple hydrothermal method. Under visible light irradiation, Co3S4/Zn0.5Cd0.5S exhibited high photocatalytic activities in a H2 production system coupled with selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol. Moreover, 3% Co3S4/Zn0.5Cd0.5S showed the optimal activity (7.67 mmol g−1 h−1), greatly improved compared to that of Zn0.5Cd0.5S (1.62 mmol g−1 h−1). The reasons for the improved photocatalytic performance were seriously investigated by a variety of measurements and can be attributed to the enhanced visible light absorption and more efficient electron–hole pair separation. This study provides a good strategy to construct photocatalysts with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and efficient charge separation for highly efficient H2 production.