Efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production by Mn0.05Cd0.95S nanoparticles anchored on cubic NiSe2

Abstract

In the field of catalysis, three critical factors for evaluating catalyst activity include charge separation efficiency, photoabsorption, and surface activity sites. In this work, we designed novel effective Mn_0.05Cd_0.95S/NiSe₂ photocatalysts, which were formed by Mn_0.05Cd_0.95S (MCS) nanoparticles anchored on the outer surface of cubic NiSe₂. The optimum hydrogen evolution rate of the Mn_0.05Cd_0.95S/NiSe₂ composite is 14.3 mmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹, which is 7.5 times higher than that of single Mn_0.05Cd_0.95S. Multiple characterization techniques (XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, PL, etc.) were performed to research the properties of the composite catalyst and propose a possible mechanism for hydrogen production by NiSe₂/Mn_0.05Cd_0.95S. Structural analyses and experimental results reveal that attaching MCS particles to the surface of NiSe₂ can significantly increase the visible light absorption capacity. Cubic NiSe₂ can efficiently facilitate the separation of electron–hole pairs and expose abundant active sites for photocatalytic redox reactions. This work demonstrates that low-cost NiSe₂ is a promising co-catalyst for the photocatalytic splitting of water to produce hydrogen.