Efficient photocatalytic H2 production by Zn-defective Zn0.3Cd0.7S supported on the hollow bimetallic NiCoP microspheres

To improve the efficiency of photocatalytic H 2 production, many researches are widely studied on the microstructure regulation of cocatalysts, including morphology design, atomic doping, and heterostructures composite. Derived from Ni-Co MOF materials, hollow NiCoP (NCP) microspheres as electron acceptor can effectively promote the separation of photogenerated charge carriers (PCCs). With Zn 0.3 Cd 0.7 S (ZCS) nanoparticles supporting on the surface of NCP, a series of NiCoP/Zn 0.3 Cd 0.7 S (NCP/ZCS) composites were successfully prepared by electrostatic self-assembly and characterized by many tests. Under visible light illumination, 10 % NCP/ZCS catalyst had the best H 2 production rate (21.50 mmol g −1 h −1 ) with benzyl alcohol (PhCH 2 OH) as the sacrificial agent, about 45.74 times that of pure ZCS. Its apparent quantum yield (AQY) reached highest at 400 nm, which was about 18.94 %. Through a combination of photoelectric, PL and UPS experiments, a Z-scheme transfer model was proposed in the NCP/ZCS composite for highly efficient photocatalytic H 2 generation. For ZCS, the hollow structure of the NCP cocatalyst can improve the light utilization rate, increase the reaction active site and accelerate the electron transmission rate. This structural design of cocatalyst not only provides a new idea to understand the reaction process of photocatalysis, but also opens up new directions for the development of simple, efficient and low-cost cocatalysts.