Hydrogen Evolution Under Visible Light on CdS Nano-Rod

In this paper, nano-rod CdS was prepared by using a solvothermal method adopting thiourea as sulfur source. The micro-morphology and structure of the as-prepared CdS were investigated by using XRD, HRTEM, and ED, based on which it is suggested that the nano-rod CdS may have a preferential orientation growth along c-axis. Experiments of water splitting were performed with a 300 W Xe light as resources (λ > 420 nm). The preparation conditions of solvothermal reaction were systematically studied. The CdS synthesized at 160 °C had a high photo-activity with a hydrogen evolution rate at 34 mmol/h/gCat. Moreover, the as-prepared CdS possessed a large BET surface area of 36.7 m2/g and pore volume of 0.09 cm3/g. Therefore, the high activity might be due to its high crystallinity and large surface area.