Photocatalytic H2 Evolution Coupled with Furfuralcohol Oxidation over Pt-Modified ZnCdS Solid Solution.

Abstract

Coupling photocatalytic H2 production with organic synthesis attracts immense interest in the energy and chemical engineering field for the low-cost, clean, and sustainable generation of green energy and value-added products. Nevertheless, the performance of current photocatalysts is greatly limited by grievous charge recombination and tardy H2 evolution. To tackle these issues, a Pt nanocluster-modified ZnCdS solid solution is fabricated for photocatalytic H2 production and selective furfuralcohol oxidation. The internal electric field inside the ZnCdS and Schottky junction between ZnCdS and Pt nanoclusters drastically ameliorate charge separation. Meanwhile, the Pt nanoclusters remarkably expedite the H2 evolution kinetics on ZnCdS. As a result, the H2 production rate over Pt-loaded ZnCdS reaches 1045µmol g-1 h-1 , which is about 26- and 70-fold that of CdS and ZnS, respectively. Under light irradiation for 3 h, the conversion of furfuralcohol to furfural reaches 71% with 89% furfural selectivity. The photocatalytic mechanism is investigated by in situ characterizations and theoretical calculations.