An Efficient and Stable MoS 2 /Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S Nanocatalyst for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by water splitting is highly important for the application of hydrogen energy and the replacement of fossil fuel by solar energy, which needs the development of efficient catalysts with long-term catalytic stability under light irradiation in aqueous solution. Herein, Zn0.5 Cd0.5 S solid solution was synthesized by a metal-organic framework-templated strategy and then loaded with MoS2 by a hydrothermal method to fabricate a MoS2 /Zn0.5 Cd0.5 S heterojunction for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The composition of MoS2 /Zn0.5 Cd0.5 S was fine-tuned to obtain the optimized 5 wt % MoS2 /Zn0.5 Cd0.5 S heterojunction, which showed a superior hydrogen evolution rate of 23.80 mmol h-1 g-1 and steady photocatalytic stability over 25 h. The photocatalytic performance is due to the appropriate composition and the formation of an intimate interface between MoS2 and Zn0.5 Cd0.5 S, which endows the photocatalyst with high light-harvesting ability and effective separation of photogenerated carriers.