Influence of Zn concentration in the activity of Cd1−xZnxS solid solutions for water splitting under visible light

Abstract Solid solutionsCd 1− x Zn x S with different Zn concentration (0.2 x 3 2− /S 2− as sacrificial reagents under visible light. Textural, structural and surface catalyst properties are determined by N 2 adsorption isotherms, UV–vis spectroscopy, SEM and XRD and related to the activity results in hydrogen productionfrom water splittingunder visible light irradiation. It is found that the crystallinity and energy band structure of the Cd 1− x Zn x S solid solutionsdepend on their Zn atomic concentration. The hydrogen productionrate is found to increase gradually when the Zn concentration on photocatalysts increases from 0.2 to 0.3. Subsequent increase in the Zn fraction up to 0.35 leads to lower hydrogen production. Variation in photoactivity is analyzed in terms of changes in crystallinity, level of conduction band and light absorption ability of Cd 1− x Zn x S solid solutionsderived from their Zn atomic concentration.