A Cadmium Sulfide-Cadmium Molybdate Heterojunction for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Photocatalytic hydrogen production is a green technology that uses solar energy to generate hydrogen by splitting water, and is of significance to the renewable energy field. However, exploring and fabricating stable catalysts that deliver outstanding photocatalytic performance remains challenging. In this study, we formed a CdS@CdMoO₄ composite material via the in situ growth of CdS on CdMoO₄ as the catalyst. CdMoO₄ was found to effectively promote charge separation and prolong carrier lifetime; hence, CdS@CdMoO₄ exhibited a remarkably enhanced hydrogen-production rate, with a value of 25.07 mmol·g^-1·h^-1 recorded, which is 53.34-times higher than that of pure CdS. The improved hydrogen-production rate is primarily attributable to its high number of active sites and the gradaed band structure between the CdS and CdMoO₄ phases, which enhances electron-transfer efficiency. The formation of heterojunctions in the CdS@CdMoO₄ catalyst provides a novel strategy for improving the efficiencies of CdS-based photocatalytic reactions.