Amorphous W‐S‐P Modified ZnxCd1−xS with Tunable Band Structure for Efficient Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting

Abstract

The photocatalytic overall water splitting performance of the bandgap controllable ZnxCd1−xS solid solution is still restricted by its photo‐corrosion. In this study, amorphous tungsten phosphosulphide (W‐S‐P) modified ZnxCd1−xS solid solution is successfully prepared as a visible‐light‐driven photocatalyst and an efficient and stable ZnxCd1−xS/W‐S‐P heterojunction is constructed through intimate W‐S covalent bonds for efficient photocatalytic overall water splitting. The hydrogen evolution rate of the composite catalyst reached 18899.6 μmol g−1 h−1, which is 86 times and 5 times higher than that of W‐S‐P and Zn0.5Cd0.5S, respectively. At this time, the precipitation rates of H2 and O2 were 157.07 μmol g−1 h−1 and 78.05 μmol g−1 h−1 without any noble metal catalyst. In this work, the overall water splitting efficiency of the catalyst is greatly improved by constructing a ZnxCd1−xS/W‐S‐P Schottky heterojunction, which further inhibits the photo‐corrosion of the ZnxCd1−xS catalyst. At the same time, the strong internal electric field greatly improves the charge transfer efficiency. It provides a new idea for an in‐depth understanding of the chemical changes of elemental binding energy in ZnxCd1−xS solid solution and the design of new binary photocatalytic materials.