Leaf-inspired hierarchical porous CdS/Au/N-TiO2 heterostructures for visible light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

- A new idea for promising photocatalysts with desirable morphology and components for water splitting is proposed inspired from natural leaf.
- The unique architectures of natural leaves could enhance overall light harvesting and offer more reaction sites for the catalysis.
- The photocatalytic modules - CdS(shell)/Au(core)/N-TiO2 heterostructures are served as a prototype here to demonstrate this concept.
- The optimized CdS/Au/N-TiO2 heterostructures exhibit superior H2 evolution activities over other systems.
- It is based on biological morphology and mechanism paradigms, providing a proof of concept for the bio-inspired design of artificial systems.