Controlled Synthesis of CeO2NS-Au-CdSQDs Ternary Nanoheterostructure: A Promising Visible Light Responsive Photocatalyst for H2 Evolution

With the advancement of promising multifaceted powdered photocatalytic systems, problems related to environmental pollution and energy requirements have been addressed to a significant extent. The major reason for this great achievement lies in the combined effect of both structure modification and integration of different functional materials. Here, we report a ternary hybrid containing wide band gap CeO2 nanosheets with CdSQDs and Au nanoparticles, incorporated between this type II heterostructure through simple chemical reduction methods. Structural and morphological characterization of the fabricated samples was carried out by XRD, XPS, and TEM analysis. From a series of optical and photoelectrochemical measurements, it was found that the incorporation of Au nanoparticles into the interfaces of CeO2 and CdSQDs was the major cause of the enhancement in the photocatalytic activity. Au nanoparticles play a dual character by acting as a mediator and also inject hot electrons through LSPR (light-induced su...