Band design of ternary Fe3S4/ZnCdS/ZnS heterojunction for photocatalytic H2 production

Studies on highly efficient heterojunction photocatalysts are regarded as an important task for H 2 production by water splitting. In this work, a novel ternary Fe 3 S 4 /ZnCdS/ZnS (FS/ZCS/ZnS) heterostructures were successfully prepared by a simple grinding method. With ZCS/ZnS nanoclusters loading on the surface of Fe 3 S 4 microflowers, photocatalytic H 2 production of ZCS/ZnS was largely improved in lactic acid (LA) solution. The H 2 evolution rate of FS/ZCS/ZnS is high up to 4.36 mmol g −1  h −1 under visible light irradiation and 8.13 mmol g −1  h −1 under full spectrum irradiation. Prolonged experiments and cycle tests showed that FS/ZCS/ZnS is stable and reusable. The formation of ternary heterostructures facilitates the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers (PCCs, including photogenerated electrons and holes), leading to the activity enhancement of photocatalytic H 2 production. The strategy for the heterojunction construction can provide more perspective for the design of high-efficiency and recyclable photocatalysts for H 2 evolution.