Enhancing hydrogen evolution by photoelectrocatalysis of water splitting over a CdS flowers-loaded TiO2 nanotube array film on the Ti foil substrate

This study is devoted to the scalable fabrication of a high-performance composite photocatalyst by incorporation of the visible-light-active CdS flowers (with sharp edges exposed) onto a TiO 2 nanotube array (TNA) film on the Ti foil substrate. To evaluate the visible-light-harvesting performance of the prepared hierarchical architecture consisting of the CdS flowers, TNAs, and Ti foil, we subsequently assembled a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell with membrane electrode assemblies fabricated innovatively by thermocompression. The CdS flowers can efficiently harvest the visible light energy , while TiO 2 collects photoelectrons, effectively separating of the photoexcited electron-hole pairs and hence enhancing the photocatalysis efficiency in the photoelectrochemical conversion and yield of hydrogen production from water splitting. An impressive hydrogen production rate of 22.44 μmol▪h −1 ▪cm −2 was obtained in the PEC cell with the CdS flowers-sensitized TNA film under simulated solar light with an active irradiation area of around 42 cm 2 , thus showing great potential for practical applications.