Atomically dispersed Ni in cadmium-zinc sulfide quantum dots for high-performance visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen production

Catalysts with a single atom site allow highly tuning of the activity, stability, and reactivity of heterogeneous catalysts. Therefore, atomistic understanding of the pertinent mechanism is essential to simultaneously boost the intrinsic activity, site density, electron transport, and stability. Here, we report that atomically dispersed nickel (Ni) in zincblende cadmium–zinc sulfide quantum dots (ZCS QDs) delivers an efficient and durable photocatalytic performance for water splitting under sunlight. The finely tuned Ni atoms dispersed in ZCS QDs exhibit an ultrahigh photocatalytic H2 production activity of 18.87 mmol hour−1 g−1. It could be ascribed to the favorable surface engineering to achieve highly active sites of monovalent Ni(I) and the surface heterojunctions to reinforce the carrier separation owing to the suitable energy band structures, built-in electric field, and optimized surface H2 adsorption thermodynamics. This work demonstrates a synergistic regulation of the physicochemical properties of QDs for high-efficiency photocatalytic H2 production.

Physical Characteristics of CBD Synthesized CdZnS Thin Films

In recent years, ternary cadmium zinc sulfide (CdZnS) alloy compounds have been paid much attention in the fields of opto-electronics, particularly in photovoltaic devices. CdZnS thin films can be prepared by different techniques among which chemical methods have more advantages. Among different chemical method, Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) is simple, low cost and widely applicable in industrial applications. In this chapter, we have discussed different methods of preparation of CdZnS thin film and their obtained properties. Also, the films are characterized by XRD, TEM, FESEM, EDAX, UV-Vis spectroscopy, etc. The properties of CdZnS gives insight of the properties of ternary thin film semiconductor and it will help to design semiconductor with tuneable properties for future applications in optoelectronic sector.