Homojunction-Structured Cadmium Sulfide Enhances Photocatalytic Coproduction of Hydrogen and Kraft Lignin Conversion

Abstract

Producing hydrogen energy and aromatic compounds simultaneously from kraft lignin under solar irradiation is a promising strategy for alleviating the energy crisis. However, the achieved photorefining process is not only limited by the complex structure of kraft lignin but also by the lack of efficient photocatalysts. Herein, we employed a simple strategy to prepare homojunction-structured cadmium sulfide with rich sulfur vacancies. The perfect lattice matching of the cubic zinc blende phase and hexagonal wurtzite phase realized the spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. With the assistance of rich sulfur vacancies, the well-designed photocatalyst exhibited an unprecedented hydrogen production ability (835.8 μmol·g–1 h–1) and value-added phenolic compounds were also generated by decomposing kraft lignin. This work will provide a mild and sustainable pathway to produce clean energy and value-added chemicals from kraft lignin.