Noble‐metal‐free MOF Derived ZnS/CeO2 Decorated with CuS Cocatalyst Photocatalyst with Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Character

Abstract

AbstractInspired by the rich morphology of ZnO and cation‐exchange technology, regular dodecahedron‐like CeO2/ZnO was obtained by the calcination of Ce doped ZIF‐8 precursor in this study, and CeO2/ZnS was obtained by the in‐situ vulcanization of CeO2/ZnO. This design not only maintained the morphology of ZIF‐8, but also enhanced the oxidation‐reduction capacity of the catalyst. When the Ce content was 10 wt %, 10‐CeO2/ZnS sample showed the best photocatalytic hydrogen production performance in all X−CeO2/ZnS samples. Loading of co‐catalysts can effectively enhance the surface hydrogen reduction in photocatalytic water splitting by introducing a positive Schottky barrier. CuS was regarded as a promising cocatalyst to replace the noble metals due to its low cost and equivalent or even better performance. The in‐situ cation exchange method was used to load co‐catalyst CuS on the 10‐CeO2/ZnS composites to obtain the 10‐CeO2/ZnS‐CuS composites which had the large specific surface area, regular dodecahedral structure and much excellent photolysis of water to produce hydrogen characters. This work provided a new strategy for the advantages combining of co‐catalyst, p‐n junction as well as the porous structure to enhance the photocatalytic characters.