Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production of Flower-like Cadmium Sulfide Decorated by Histidine.
Morphology-controlled synthesis of CdS can significantly enhance the efficiency of its photocatalytic hydrogen production. In this study, a novel three-dimensional (3D) flower-like CdS is synthesized via a facile template-free hydrothermal process using Cd(NO3)2•4H2O and thiourea as precursors and L-Histidine as a chelating agent. The morphology, crystal phase, and photoelectrochemical performance of the flower-like CdS and pure CdS nanocrystals are carefully investigated via various characterizations. Superior photocatalytic activity relative to that of pure CdS is observed on the flower-like CdS photocatalyst under visible light irradiation, which is nearly 13 times of pure CdS. On the basis of the results from SEM studies and our analysis, a growth mechanism of flower-like CdS is proposed by capturing the shape evolution. The imidazole ring of L-Histidine captures the Cd ions from the solution, and prevents the growth of the CdS nanoparticles. Furthermore, the photocatalytic contrast experiments illustrate that the as-synthesized flower-like CdS with L-Histidine is more stable than CdS without L-Histidine in the hydrogen generation.
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Key Laboratory of Eco-Environment-Related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education of China, Key Laboratory of Gansu Polymer Materials, Lanzhou 730070, China.|Key Laboratory of Green Catalysis of Higher Education Institutes of Sichuan, College of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong, 643000, China.
Qizhao
Q
Wang
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Key Laboratory of Eco-Environment-Related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education of China, Key Laboratory of Gansu Polymer Materials, Lanzhou 730070, China.
Juhong
J
Lian
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Key Laboratory of Eco-Environment-Related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education of China, Key Laboratory of Gansu Polymer Materials, Lanzhou 730070, China.
Jiajia
J
Li
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Key Laboratory of Eco-Environment-Related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education of China, Key Laboratory of Gansu Polymer Materials, Lanzhou 730070, China.
Rongfang
R
Wang
College of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China.
Haohao
H
Huang
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Key Laboratory of Eco-Environment-Related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education of China, Key Laboratory of Gansu Polymer Materials, Lanzhou 730070, China.
Bitao
B
Su
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Key Laboratory of Eco-Environment-Related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education of China, Key Laboratory of Gansu Polymer Materials, Lanzhou 730070, China.
Ziqiang
Z
Lei
D000327:Adsorption; D019187:Cadmium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D002384:Catalysis; D006639:Histidine / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008027:Light; D008422:Materials Testing; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects
D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D013440:Sulfides; C034939:cadmium sulfide; D006639:Histidine; D006859:Hydrogen