Photoreforming of Waste Plastics into H2 Using ZnxCd1-xS Nanoplates Synthesized via Cation Exchange Reactions

Solar-driven photoreforming of plastic waste into hydrogen offers a promising solution to simultaneously address environmental pollution and sustainable fuel production. However, developing efficient visible-light photocatalysts that couple plastic oxidation with proton reduction for green H 2 generation is still a challenge. Herein, a series of Zn x Cd 1- x S (ZCS) nanoplates (NPs) is rationally synthesized via a cation exchange strategy with Cu 1.8 S NPs serving as sacrificial templates and used for efficient evolution of H 2 from waste plastic. Among these, ZCS-5 NPs achieve an optimal balance between visible-light absorption and redox driving force, delivering a high hydrogen evolution rate of 39.81 mol g –1 h –1 under visible light, outperforming their binary CdS and ZnS NPs. Notably, ZCS-5 NPs also enabled efficient photoreforming of plastic substrates, achieving H 2 evolution rates of 14.98 and 2.28 mol g –1 h –1 from polylactic acid and polyethylene terephthalate under mild aqueous conditions, respectively. Overall, this work presents a potential approach for solar-driven plastic upcycling and green hydrogen generation.