Recently, a research group headed by Prof. LI Can with the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS made a remarkable progress in the study of photocatalytic H2 production.
The synthesis of photocatalysts remains a key problem for solar photocatalytic hydrogen production, and to find low-cost photocatalysts especially poses a challenge for the mass-production of this environmentally friendly energy. In the research, Prof. Li's group has loaded a small amount of MoS2 as a cocatalyst on CdS and then the activity of photocatalytic H2 production is found significantly enhanced. The rate of H2 evolution on CdS is increased by more than 30 times when loaded with only 0.2 wt % of MoS2. The activity of MoS2/CdS is even higher than that of the CdS photocatalysts loaded with different noble metals, such as Pt, Ru, Rh, Pd, and Au. The junction formed between MoS2 and CdS and the excellent H2 activation property of MoS2 are supposed to be responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of MoS2/CdS. This substitute photocatalyst is expected to speed up the development of solar photocatalytic hydrogen production.
Their research was highlighted by the Chemical & Engineering News and the paper was published in a recent issue of
Journal of American Chemical Society (2008, DOI: 10.1021/ja8007825).
