Fabrication of nanocomposite MoC–Mo2C@C/Cd0.5Zn0.5S: promoted electron migration and improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract

In this work, we successfully prepared composites of carbon-modified in-phase MoC–Mo₂C (MoC–Mo₂C@C, MMC) nanosheets with Cd_0.5Zn_0.5S (ZCS) nanorods. The loading of MMC nanosheets significantly improved the hydrogen production rate of ZCS nanorods. The results showed that the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of ZCS is the highest when MMC nanosheets are 1 wt% of ZCS nanorods (1-MMC/ZCS), reaching 68.8 mmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹, which is 7.7 times that of pure ZCS nanorods. The 1-MMC/ZCS photocatalyst was measured with Na₂S/Na₂SO₃ as a hole sacrifice reagent under irradiation with 420 nm monochromatic light, and the quantum efficiency of 1-MMC/ZCS was 32.9%. The carbon layer can promote the rapid transfer of photogenerated electrons, and in-phase Mo₂C–MoC as the active site can synergistically improve the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of ZCS. Most Mo₂C-based materials are still used in the field of electrocatalysis. This study provides a new idea for exploring new molybdenum-based co-catalyst materials in the field of visible light catalytic hydrogen production.