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Updated: Oct 28, 2025
Harvesting Solar Energy by Means of Charge-Separating Nanocrystals and Their Solids
Published on: August 23, 2012
Atomic heterojunction-induced accelerated charge transfer for boosted photocatalytic hydrogen evolution over 1D CdS
Pan Li1, Manli Liu1, Jieqiong Li2
1Henan Engineering Center of New Energy Battery Materials, Henan D&A Engineering Center of Advanced Battery Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, Henan 476000, China; Green Catalysis Center, and College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
Abstract:
Design of highly efficient heterojunctions for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is of significant importance to address the energy shortage and environmental crisis. Nevertheless, the smart design of semiconductor-based heterojunctions at the atomic scale still remains a significant challenge hitherto. Herein, we report novel atomic CdS/ZnIn2S4 heterojunctions by in-situ epitaxially growing 2D ZnIn2S4 nanosheets onto the surface of 1D defective CdS nanorods. The strong electronic coupling between defective CdS and ZnIn2S4 is confirmed by transient photocurrent response measurements, •O2- and •OH radicals experiments, and PL results, leading to accelerated interfacial charge separation and transfer. Additionally, the elevated charge transfer and electronic coupling are further confirmed by theoretical calculations. Consequently, CdS/ZnIn2S4 hybrids exhibit superior photocatalytic hydrogen generation activity to pristine CdS. Our findings offer a new paradigm for designing atomic 1D/2D heterojunctions for efficient solar-driven energy conversion.
