Amorphous W‐S‐P modified Zn_xCd_1‐xS with tunable band structure for efficient photocatalytic overall water splitting

The photocatalytic overall water splitting performance of the band gap controllable Zn_xCd_1‐xS solid solution is still restricted by its photo‐corrosion. In this study, amorphous tungsten phosphosulphide (W‐S‐P) modified Zn_xCd_1‐xS solid solution was successfully prepared as a visible‐light‐driven photocatalyst and an efficient and stable Zn_xCd_1‐xS/W‐S‐P heterojunction was constructed through intimate W‐S covalent bonds for efficient photocatalytic overall water splitting. The hydrogen evolution rate of the composite catalyst reached 18899.6 μmol g^‐1h^‐1, which was 86 times and 5 times higher than that of W‐S‐P and Zn_0.5Cd_0.5S, respectively. At this time, the precipitation rates of H₂ and O₂ were 157.07 μmol g^‐1h^‐1 and 78.05 μmol g^‐1h^‐1 without any noble metal catalyst. In this work, the overall water splitting efficiency of the catalyst was greatly improved by constructing a Zn_xCd_1‐xS/W‐S‐P Schottky heterojunction, which further inhibited the photo‐corrosion of the Zn_xCd_1‐xS catalyst. At the same time, the strong internal electric field greatly improves the charge transfer efficiency. It provides a new idea for an in‐depth understanding of the chemical changes of elemental binding energy in Zn_xCd_1‐xS solid solution and the design of new binary photocatalytic materials.

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