LAUSR

Abstract The development of photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution is a promising alternative to industrial hydrogen evolution; however, generation of high active, recyclable, inexpensive heterojunctions are still challenging. Herein, a novel strategy was developed to synthesize non-noble metal co-catalyst/solid solution heterojunctions using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as a precursor template. By adjusting the content of MOFs, a series of Cu1.8S/ZnxCd1-xS heterojunctions were obtained, and the Cu1.8S(3.7 %)/Zn0.35Cd0.65S sample exhibits a maximum hydrogen evolution rate of 14.27 mmol h−1 g−1 with an apparent quantum yield of 3.7 % at 420 nm under visible-light irradiation. Subsequently, the relationship between the heterojunction and photocatalytic activity were investigated by detailed characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, which reveal that loading Cu1.8S can efficiently extend the light absorption, meanwhile, the electrons can efficiently transfer from Zn0.35Cd0.65S to Cu1.8S, thus resulting more photogenerated electrons participating in surface reactions. This result can be valuable inspirations for the exploitation of advanced materials using rationally designed nanostructures for solar energy conversion.