LAUSR

Abstract Exploiting visible-light-responsive photocatalysts for highly-efficient water-splitting is a very promising way to achieve the renewable hydrogen energy. To this end, the rational manipulation on the composition and structure of semiconductor nanomaterials appears extremely necessary. Herein, we construct a unique hybrid consisting of P-doped CZ0.10S-0.5P porous nano-spheres coupled with Ni2P and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) cocatalysts (CZ0.10S-0.5P@Ni2P/rGO), which exhibits an outstanding performance for H2 evolution reaction (HER) under visible-light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation. Noticeably, the CZ0.10S-0.5P@2Ni2P/1.5rGO with 2 wt%-Ni2P and 1.5 wt%-rGO delivers an exceptional HER rate of 616.8 mmol∙h−1∙g−1 (the apparent quantum efficiency reaches 77.0% at 475 nm), outperforming that of Pt-loaded CZ0.10S-0.5P and the great majority of CdS-based composites reported previously. In addition, the CZ0.10S-0.5P@2Ni2P/1.5rGO composite also presents a steady H2 generation activity under prolonged irradiation. The superior photocatalytic property of CZ0.10S-0.5P@Ni2P/rGO could be associated with the abundant active sites provided by Ni2P, excellent visible-light absorption, and effective charge transfer and separation enabled by the Schottky junctions formed between CZ0.10S-0.5P and Ni2P/rGO. The findings indicated here could promote the design and manufacture of advanced semiconductor nanostructures for sustainable energy applications.