Efficient visible light driven photocatalytic hydrogen production from water using attapulgite clay sensitized by CdS nanoparticles.

Hydrogen production through water splitting using photocatalysts with solar energy can produce clean fuel from renewable resources. In this study, CdS nanoparticle sensitized attapulgite (ATP) nanocomposites were successfully prepared by a facile approach. Under visible-light irradiation, the as-prepared photocatalysts were used for photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen evolution from aqueous solutions containing Na2SO3 and Na2S as sacrificial reagents even without the noble metals. Photocatalytic hydrogen production activity is ascribed to the presence of CdS nanocrystals that alter the energy levels of the conduction band and valence band in the coupled semiconductor system. Furthermore, the theoretical calculations show that the natural Fe doping (two ATP cells sharing one Fe atom) can promote the photocatalytic process.