Nanoscale Assembly of CdS/BiVO₄ Hybrids for Coupling Selective Fine Chemical Synthesis and Hydrogen Production under Visible Light

Abstract

Simultaneously utilizing photogenerated electrons and holes in one photocatalytic system to synthesize value-added chemicals and clean hydrogen (H2) energy meets the development requirements of green chemistry. Herein, we report a binary material of CdS/BiVO4 combining one-dimensional (1D) CdS nanorods (NRs) with two-dimensional (2D) BiVO4 nanosheets (NSs) constructed through a facile electrostatic self-assembly procedure for the selectively photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic alcohols integrated with H2 production, which exhibits significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance. Within 2 h, the conversion of aromatic alcohols over CdS/BiVO4-25 was approximately 9-fold and 40-fold higher than that over pure CdS and BiVO4, respectively. The remarkably improved photoactivity of CdS/BiVO4 hybrids is mainly ascribed to the Z-scheme charge separation mechanism in the 1D/2D heterostructure derived from the interface contact between CdS and BiVO4, which not only facilitates the separation and transfer of charge carriers, but also maintains the strong reducibility of photogenerated electrons and strong oxidizability of photogenerated holes. It is anticipated that this work will further stimulate interest in the rational design of 1D/2D Z-scheme heterostructure photocatalysts for the selective fine chemical synthesis integrated with H2 evolution.

Manipulating selective amine transformation pathways via cocatalyst-modified monolayer ZnIn2S4 photocatalysts

“…The influence of the substitution group is consistent with that reported in earlier work. 38,39 Moreover, the yield of H 2 obtained in the different substituent reactions is associated with the amine conversion, which indicates that these reactions are also stoichiometric. During the substrate broadening experiments with Cu 2 S/ZIS, the reaction time is extended to 9 h to obtain a relatively higher aromatic amine conversion.…”

Semiconductor quantum dots: a versatile platform for photoredox organic transformation

“…Cd-rich semiconductor QDs based on III-VI elements are known for their tunable band gap, and have a wider band gap than bulk semiconductors (i.e., about 2.43 eV band gap energy for bulk CdS and 2.65 eV for QDs) due to quantum connement effects. [51][52][53] Additionally, the surface properties of QDs can signicantly affect their exciton kinetics for the reason that the surface atoms of QDs make up the majority of total atoms. 54,55 In particular, the spatially separated charge carriers can transfer to the semiconductor QD surface independently, and ultimately be captured by molecules adsorbed on their surface or transfer to the reactive sites on the other semiconductors or cocatalysts.…”

Tuning of TiO2/CdS Hybrid Semiconductor with Au Cocatalysts: State-of-the-Art Design for Sunlight-Driven H2 Generation from Water Splitting

“…It is imperative to investigate the activity and stability when coupling CdS with TiO 2 . Many reports suggests that stability of CdS can be enhanced by combining it with ZnO, TiO 2 , BiVO 4 , SrTiO 3 , and g–C 3 N 4 . Numerous metals, including Zn, Cu, Ag, Au, Al, Pt, Pd, Sr, and Ni have been previously utilized in combination with CdS for hydrogen generation.…”