Synthesis and photochemical performance of morphology-controlled CdS photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution under visible light

Novel CdS nanomaterials were synthesized by a simple “one-pot” hydrothermal biomolecule-assisted method using glutathione (GSH) as the sulfur source and structure-directing reagent. Various morphologies of CdS photocatalysts, such as solid nanospheres (s-CdS), hollow nanospheres (h-CdS) and nanorods (r-CdS), were obtained by controlling only the hydrothermal temperatures. The X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that all of the samples were typical hexagonal wurtzite CdS. It was found that the absorption edge of s-CdS was at 465 nm with a greater blue shift compared to that of h-CdS and r-CdS. The photocatalytic activity of s-CdS was superior to that of h-CdS and r-CdS under visible light. Photoluminescence measurements revealed their different photogenerated electron/hole recombination ability, which was in accordance with the order of s-CdS < h-CdS < r-CdS. The excellent photocatalytic activity of s-CdS was ascribed to the small sizes of sub-nanocrystallites, which make it easy for photoinduced electrons and holes on the solid sphere to migrate to the surface and react with water and the sacrificial agent quickly. It was crucial to control the temperature for preparing CdS photocatalysts via hydrothermal methods. The formation mechanism of different morphology might be due to complexation, S–C bond rupture, spherical aggregation and Ostwald ripening processes.