Distinctive ternary CdS/Ni2P/g-C3N4 composite for overall water splitting: Ni2P accelerating separation of photocarriers

By Heng He, Jing Cao, M. Guo, Haili Lin, Jinfeng Zhang, Yong Chen, Shifu Chen. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2019

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Abstract Efficient overall water splitting over semiconductor photocatalyst is vital but difficult for resolving the energy and environmental crises. In this report, a novel transition metal phosphide Ni2P-based ternary CdS/Ni2P/g-C3N4 composite was constructed for achieving efficient overall water splitting activity under visible light (λ > 420 nm). The H2 and O2 evolution ratios are 15.56 and 7.75 μmol·g–1 h–1 over CdS/Ni2P/g-C3N4 with 3 wt% Ni2P, respectively, which is 4.02 times higher than that of binary type II CdS/g-C3N4. The separation efficiency of photocarriers of CdS/Ni2P/g-C3N4 is enhanced through greatly speeding up the transfer efficiency of electrons from the conduction band of g-C3N4 to that of CdS using Ni2P as electron-bridge, proved by the photoluminescence, transient photocurrent measurements and electrochemical impendence spectroscopy. The significant finding of this paper sheds light on the important role of transition metal phosphide as electron-bridge to connect the two conduction bands of type II semiconductor heterojuction for strengthening the separation efficiency of photocarriers.

Subfields: Materials Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/e3d57d4aa1c0079232b4f9618de8f4d7b7f84192