Novel Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalyst Based on Mn-Cd-S for Efficient H2 Evolution

A novel visible light-driven photocatalyst based on Mn-Cd-S for efficient H2 evolution was studied. The composite sulfide system, Mn 1-xCdxS was synthesized by a hydrothermal method. A mixture of Cd(CH3COO)2, Mn(CH3COO)2, thioacetamide, and water was placed in a 150 mL stainless steel reaction vessel and heated at 160°C for 24 h. Precipitated solid was washed with distilled water and ethanol and then dried at room temperature under vacuum. RuO was loaded as a cocatalyst by an incipient wetness method using a ruthenium carbonyl complexes, Ru3(CO)12, dissolved in THF. The crystal structure was identified using a powder X-ray diffractometer with monochromated Cu Kα radiation. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis was used to determine chemical composition. The diffraction profile at x = 0 showed a mixture of cubic and hexagonal MnS, but the former phase disappeared with the addition of a very small amount of Cd (x - 0.01).