Photocatalytic degradation of formic acid with simultaneous production of hydrogen over Pt and Ru-loaded CdS/Al-HMS photocatalysts

The CdS/Al-HMS, Pt- and Ru-loaded CdS/Al-HMS photocatalysts were prepared by template, ion exchange and precipitation reaction, and were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UVDRS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and fluorescence emission spectra (FES). The result showed that CdS in the form of clusters was highly dispersed inside the channels of Al-HMS. The reaction activities of photocatalysts were examined by photocatalytic degradation of formic acid under visible light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm). The photocatalyst, CdS/Al-HMS loaded 0.34 wt.% Pt, showed the highest H2 evolution at a rate of 7.63 mL h− 1 with an apparent quantum yield of 2%.