ZnCr Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH) Nanosheets Assisted Formation of Hierarchical Flower‐Like CdZnS@LDH Microstructures with Improved Visible‐Light‐Driven H₂ Production

Abstract

The development of new semiconductor photocatalysts toward splitting water has supplied a promising way to obtain sustainable and clean hydrogen energy. Herein, CdZnS@layered double hydroxide (LDH) composites with a hierarchical flower-like microstructure have been fabricated with the aid of ZnCr-LDH nanosheets as templates. XRD, SEM and HRTEM show that the ZnCr-LDH nanosheets are uniformly dispersed within the composites. The surface of the hierarchical structures is rough and composed of numerous nanocrystals of CdZnS. The HRTEM images indicate that the surface of CdZnS nanocrystals is mainly composed of the (111) plane. Moreover, the visible-light-driven H2 production performance of the CdZnS in the presence and absence of ZnCr-LDH nanosheets has been measured. The results show that ZnCr-LDH nanosheets play an important role in the hierarchical morphology and photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared samples. In the water-splitting process, the visible-light-driven H2 -production rate of hierarchical flower-like CdZnS@LDH is 4.03 times and nearly 10 times higher than that of pristine CdZnS microsphere and pure commercial CdS, respectively. Therefore, this work not only achieves enhanced catalytic performance of the CdZnS by the introduction of ZnCr-LDH nanosheets, but also supplies an insight into the relationship between the hierarchical morphology and the semiconductor photocatalytic activity.

Engineering Layered Double Hydroxide–Based Photocatalysts Toward Artificial Photosynthesis: State‐of‐the‐Art Progress and Prospects

“…However, the CB and VB potentials of the semiconductor need to be thermodynamically favorable with the CB and VB of LDH to form an intimate heterojunction interface for efficient transfer of photoinduced charge carriers. For example, NiCo‐LDH/P‐CdS, [ 78 ] CdZnS@ZnCr‐LDH, [ 107 ] Co(OH) 2 /ZnCr‐LDH, [ 108 ] and Zn x Cd 1− x S/CoAl‐LDH [ 109 ] have compatible VB and CB with the respective LDH that can improve the photocatalytic activity via promoted charge separation and charge mobility. The semiconductor coupling with LDH would form an internal electric field (IEF)‐induced S–scheme system, [ 110 ] S‐scheme heterojunction, [125b] p–n heterojunction‐based Z‐scheme, [ 111 ] p–n heterojunction, [ 108 ] or Type II band alignment.…”

Multiscale structural modulation of layered double hydroxide nanosheets and their application in solar-driven catalysis

“…自从2009年García课题 组 [41] 首次将水滑石用于可见光条件下的光催化水解 产氧以来, 水滑石在光催化分解水方面的应用引起 了越来越多的关注 [42,43] . 2015年, Yao等人 [44] 巧妙地 以 Z n Cr -L D H 为 模 板 构 筑 了 多 级 的 花 状 C d Z n S @ ZnCr-LDH复合材料, 并将其用于可见光解水产氢反 图 6 (网络版彩色)LDH及MMO薄膜的合成策略和形貌表征. (a) 用豆荚作生物模板合成LDH薄膜和MMO框架的示意图; (b)~(g) 豆荚照片及 表面生长ZnAl-LDH和焙烧后得到的ZnAl-MMO的SEM图 [36] Figure 6 (Color online) Synthesis strategy and morphologies characterization of LDH and MMO films.…”

Recent Advances in Composites of Graphene and Layered Double Hydroxides for Water Remediation: A Review

“…[8][9][10][11][12] Indeed, over the last decade, numerous effortsh ave been devoted to the modification of LDH materials to achieveb etter performance, with great advancements having been made. [13,14] For example, surface decoration, calcination, intercalation, andm ultiple composition methods have all been employed to modify LDH materials. [15][16][17][18] Yaoe tal.…”

“…Owing to their particular structural merits, such as large interlayer spacing, broad chemical composition, and ion‐exchange ability, LDH materials have been extensively investigated as catalysts or adsorbents in the field of water remediation . Indeed, over the last decade, numerous efforts have been devoted to the modification of LDH materials to achieve better performance, with great advancements having been made . For example, surface decoration, calcination, intercalation, and multiple composition methods have all been employed to modify LDH materials .…”