Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2011, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (09): 2178-2184.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB20110904

• CATALYSIS AND SURFACE SCIENCE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Preparation of CdS/Graphene Composites and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation from Water under Visible Light Irradiation

MIN Shi-Xiong, Lü Gong-Xuan   

  1. State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China
  • Received:2011-04-22 Revised:2011-06-27 Published:2011-08-26
  • Contact: LV Gong-Xuan E-mail:gxlu@lzb.ac.cn
  • Supported by:

    The project was supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (973) (2007CB613305, 2009CB22003), National High-Tech Research and Development Program of China (863) (2009AA05Z117) and Solar Energy Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KGCX2-YW-390-1, KGCX2-YW-390-3).

Abstract: CdS/graphene composite photocatalysts were prepared by photocatalytically reducing graphene oxide with CdS nanoparticles in an aqueous ethanol solution. The structure and photoelectrical properties of the resulted materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transient photocurrent measurements. The photocatalytic activities of the CdS/graphene composites for hydrogen evolution were evaluated under visible light irradiation (λ≥420 nm). The results show that the graphene oxide can be efficiently reduced by the photogenerated electrons of CdS and thus CdS/graphene composite is formed and it shows strong interactions between CdS and graphene. Compared with CdS, the enhanced photocurrent generation and photocatalytic activity toward hydrogen evolution for the CdS/ graphene composite photocatalysts could be attributed to the ability of graphene to capture and transport electrons, and to promote charge separation.

Key words: CdS, Graphene, Photoelectrical property, Hydrogen generation, Visible light