Enhanced efficiency and stability of Co0.5Cd0.5S/g-C3N4 composite photo-catalysts for hydrogen evolution from water under visible light irradiation

A simple hydrothermal process was developed to synthesize Co0.5Cd0.5S/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts. The crystal structure and surface morphology were characterized with XRD and TEM. The chemical state on the material surface, the chemical structure as well as the ultraviolet-visible light response of the photocatalyst were investigated with XPS and UV-vis DRS. The hydrogen production experiments indicated that the Co0.5Cd0.5S catalyst exhibits enhanced efficiency and stability with the addition of g-C3N4, which effectively inhibited the occurrence of photo-corrosion and promoted the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The highest rate of H2 generation from the composite catalyst is up to 6.31 mmol g−1 h−1 under visible light (λ > 400 nm).