High-efficiency photocatalytic H-evolution in water/seawater over a novel noble metal free NiC/MnCdS Schottky junction.

Solar-powered seawater production of clean hydrogen fuel is highly prospective. In this work, NiC/MnCdS (NCMCS) Schottky junctions with excellent visible-light correspondence and photogenerated carrier separation properties are constructed using electrostatic attraction. The material achieves a hydrogen evolution rate of 6472.9 μmol h g in simulated seawater, which is 11 times higher than that of a single MnCdS (MCS). More attractively, the composite exhibits excellent hydrogen evolution rates in natural river water, groundwater and tap water, with significantly enhanced practical applicability. The underlying hydrogen evolution mechanism was extrapolated from a combination of experimental and theoretical calculations. The present work provides a low-cost and efficient hydrogen evolution photocatalyst for practical application, which can help promote the efficient conversion of solar-hydrogen energy.