Enhanced Photocatalytic H₂ Evolution Performance of the CdLa₂S₄ Photocatalyst via the Sulfur-Rich NiS_1+<i>x</i> Cocatalyst

Photocatalytic hydrogen production, as a green and pollution-free technology, can use solar energy to decompose water into clean energy H2. However, the high charge separation efficiency is still a great challenge for photocatalysts. Herein, we design and synthesize sulfur-rich CdLa2S4 (CdLa2S4+x) and then obtain the CdLa2S4+x/NiS1+x catalyst by a photodeposition strategy, which is used for photocatalytic H2 production. The H2 production rate of the optimized CdLa2S4+x/NiS1+x photocatalyst is 7753.3 μmol·g–1·h–1, which is 51.8 and 5.9 times those of CdLa2S4 and CdLa2S4+x, respectively. The abundant unsaturated S sites on the sulfur-rich NiS1+x cocatalyst promote photogenerated electron transfer and improve the adsorption capacity of H+. This work offers a new idea for the rational construction of sulfide heterojunction photocatalysis and the application of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.