Efficient H <sub>2</sub> production on CoS <i> <sub>x</sub> </i> /Zn <sub>0.3</sub> Cd <sub>0.7</sub> S heterojunction by selective oxidation of <i>p</i> ‐chlorobenzyl alcohol in organic phase
Jiafang Liu, Bo Su, Li Li, Lili Pan, Wei Ren, Xiuzhen Zheng, Sugang Meng, Sujuan Zhang, Shifu Chen
Abstract
Abstract Developing high‐efficient photocatalysts for H 2 production is still the focus of current research. A series of CoS x /Zn 0.3 Cd 0.7 S (CoS x /ZCS) samples with different mass ratios were successfully synthesized for H 2 production by the oxidation of p ‐chlorobenzyl alcohol (Cl‐PhCH 2 OH). Herein, Zn 0.3 Cd 0.7 S (ZCS) solid‐solution nanoparticles are distributed on the surface of CoS x polyhedron, and CoS x is obtained from ZIF‐67, composed of Co 1− x S and CoS 2 . The photocatalytic H 2 production was performed by Cl‐PhCH 2 OH oxidation in N,N ‐Dimethylformamide (DMF) solution under visible light irradiation, and 5% CoS x /ZCS sample showed the best photocatalytic activity, with the H 2 generated rate high to 2.80 mmol g −1 h −1 . Meanwhile, the selectivity of Cl‐PhCH 2 OH oxidation to p ‐chlorobenzaldehyde (Cl‐PhCHO) is 97.6%, and the rate is 2.95 mmol g −1 h −1 . Moreover, the reasons for the excellent photocatalytic performance of CoS x /ZCS samples were deeply analyzed by experimental and theoretical results, such as trapping agents, photoelectrochemistry test, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), specific surface area, and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. This work provides a new theoretical guidance and experimental experience for the application of H 2 application and design of novel photocatalysts.