Constructing NH2-UiO-66/Zn0.5Cd0.5S heterostructure with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting

Photocatalytic extraction hydrogen from water has been identified as a promising strategy for clean energy production. Constructing heterostructured photocatalysts is a prospective strategy to address the inherent problems of single semiconductor, including sluggish photogenerated charge/electron separation/transfer, fast recombination and interferior light adsorption, thereby contributing to enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting. Herein, NH 2 -UiO-66/Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S (NU/ZCS) heterostructured photocatalysts were prepared by growing NH 2 -UiO-66 (NU) on Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S (ZCS) for effective photocatalytic hydrogen generation. The optimized 20-NU/ZCS displays a distinguished photocatalytic hydrogen generation rate of up to 27.17 mmol g −1 h −1 , representing 1.71 times that of pure ZCS and exceeding most ZCS-based photocatalysts. The boosted photocatalytic activity can be stemmed from the intimate contact and the synergistic effect of NU and ZCS, which accelerate the separation/delivery and suppress the recombination of photogenerated electron/proton, and reinforce the light absorption. This study puts forward a promising method for fabricating ZCS-based heterostructured photocatalysts for efficient hydrogen generation.