Boosted Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic H2 Production from Water on a Noble-Metal-Free Cd–In–S Photocatalyst

Visible-light-driven photocatalytic H 2 production from H 2 O is a promising green chemical technology for producing H 2 for resolving energy and environmental crises, but it still has problems, including lower efficiency and utilization of noble metal cocatalysts. Herein, we fabricate a noble-metal-free Cd–In–S photocatalyst via loading In 2 S 3 on CdS by a novel room-temperature discharge-based sulfurization process. The Cd–In–S photocatalyst shows enhanced efficiency in visible-light-driven photocatalytic H 2 production from H 2 O, with the H 2 production rate reaching 660.5 μmol h –1, which is 2.5 times higher than that on the noble-metal-based Pt/CdS photocatalyst (263.2 μmol h –1 ). Moreover, the Cd–In–S photocatalyst has excellent stability, with no decrease in the photocatalytic efficiency after 30 h reaction. The interaction of In 2 S 3 with CdS via In–S bonds at the In 2 S 3 –CdS interface enhances visible light absorption, promotes the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, and provides active sites for H 2 O dissociation, thus increasing the H 2 production efficiency on the Cd–In–S photocatalyst. The present work provides a new way to fabricate noble-metal-free photocatalysts for boosting visible-light-driven photocatalytic H 2 production from H 2 O.