One-pot loading of cadmium sulfide onto tungsten carbide for efficient photocatalytic H-2 evolution under visible light irradiation

In an attempt to construct efficient photocatalytic H-2 production system, designing a practical way to integrate co-catalyst and semiconductor is of great importance for future commercialization. Herein, we report a facile one-pot loading of CdS onto WC through the facile solid-liquid mixing method. The resultant visible light-responsive WC-supported CdS photocatalyst, at different WC wt.%, is assessed in photocatalytic hydrogen production, with lactic acid as an electron donor. Experimental results confirmed the positive effects of WC, with 3 wt% WC-loaded CdS photocatalyst (CdS/WC) exhibiting the highest hydrogen evolution rate of 9180 mu mol h(-1) g(-1). Such achievement is associated to 2.1 and 43 folds activity improvements from that of CdS/Pt(3 wt%) and pure CdS photocatalysts, respectively. Meanwhile, an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 14.3% was also recorded by the same photocatalyst from the single-wavelength photocatalytic reaction at 420 nm. All these enhancements can be attributed to the incorporation of WC, which extending and improving the light absorbability of CdS. Concurrently, the adjoining WC also provides rapid electron transfer channel and water reduction site, which facilitate the spatial separation of charges while promoting the kinetics of hydrogen production reactions. This study presents a facile synthesis method for CdS/WC photocatalyst, which offers high reliability for industrial scale hydrogen production.