Unraveling the role of MoP/Mo2N heterojunctions in enhancing the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity of CdS

A well-engineered heterojunction cocatalysts play a pivotal role in enabling efficient H 2 evolution over semiconductor materials. Herein, an effective cocatalyst derived from MoP/Mo 2 N heterostructure was proposed and incorporated to CdS for a drastically enhanced H 2 production from water under visible light irradiation. By optimizing catalytic formulation, the best-performing CdS@MoP/Mo 2 N(3 wt%) demonstrates a remarkable H 2 production rate of 10653 μmol h⁻¹g⁻¹ , representing an 18-fold enhancement compared to bare CdS. This remarkably high activity outperforms CdS enhanced by conventional noble metal cocatalysts (e.g., Ag, Au, Pt) and MoS x -based materials, underscoring the outstanding cocatalytic effect promised by MoP/Mo 2 N. In parallel, the optimized photocatalyst also achieved a remarkable stability for H 2 production over 9 consecutive cycles with a total irradiation time of 45 h, alongside a noticeably high apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 13.5 % upon irradiated by 420 nm-light. According to analysis, these enhanced performances are ascribed to the promoted interfacial charge transfer kinetics and significantly reduced hydrogen evolution overpotential of CdS@MoP/Mo 2 N(3 wt%), both of which contribute to the superior catalytic activity. Theoretical investigation also suggested a much-facilitated electron shuttling and proton desorption with MoP/Mo 2 N attached to CdS photocatalyst. Overall, this work demonstrates that our developed MoP/Mo 2 N heterostructure cocatalysts can effectively serve as alternatives to noble metals(Ag, Au, Pt) in solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production.