Nb2O5–SnS2–CdS heteronanostructures as efficient visible-light-harvesting materials for production of H2 under solar light irradiation

Solar-driven photocatalytic water splitting is an ideal method to produce clean chemical fuels such as H2 and is promising for reducing the usage of fossil fuels and satisfying the increasing worldwide demand for energy supply. Heteronanostructures (HNSs) are useful for designing sustainable, low-cost, and efficient visible-light photocatalysts. In this study, a high-performance novel Nb2O5–SnS2–CdS HNSs was fabricated using Nb2O5 microspheres, SnS2 nanopetals, and CdS nanoparticles via an ultrasonication method and was employed as an efficient solar-light-driven photocatalyst for the production of H2. These Nb2O5–SnS2–CdS HNSs produced via ultrasonication had desirable properties, with a bandgap of ∼1.96 eV, and were photocatalytically active under visible light. The Nb2O5–SnS2–CdS HNSs exhibited excellent stability of H2 evolution rate under natural solar light irradiation: 55887 μmol/g, which was 2.19 and 2.79 times greater than those for Nb2O5–CdS and SnS2–CdS HNSs, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Nb2O5–SnS2–CdS heterostructure was attributed to the enhanced visible absorption and improved charge separation, which prevented the recombination of electron–hole pairs during the photocatalytic reactions. The present study indicates the vital role of the interactions in the HNS metal sulfides and oxide for improving charge-carrier separation, which is significant for the development of highly efficient Nb2O5–SnS2–CdS HNS photocatalysts for H2 evolution.