Work

Phase-engineered nickel selenide cocatalyst on CdS for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic H2 production

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: To improve the efficiency of photocatalytic H 2 generation, cocatalysts are commonly utilized to suppress the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers and provide reaction active sites. Herein, four different crystalline phases of nickel selenide were controllably prepared via a simple one-pot approach. The nickel selenide underwent multiple phase transformations at reaction temperatures of 180, 240, 280, and 300 ℃, resulting in orthorhombic, orthorhombic-cubic, cubic, and cubic-hexagonal phases, respectively. Nickel selenides were combined with CdS using an in-situ precipitation method for photocatalytic H 2 generation reactions. All four crystalline phases of nickel selenide were found to be effective cocatalysts that boosted the photocatalytic H 2 production performance of CdS under visible light. Among these phases, the orthorhombic-cubic NiSe 2 demonstrated a superior H 2 generation rate of 3039 µmol h −1 g −1 , 6.5 times higher than CdS. The effective charge transfer between CdS and nickel selenide was revealed through photoluminescence (PL), electrochemical, and photoelectrochemical analyses. This work introduces a practical approach to designing cost-effectiveness NiSe x cocatalysts on metal sulfide semiconductors, leveraging phase control to optimize photocatalytic solar-to-H 2 conversion.

Source: Inorganic Chemistry Communications

DOI: 10.1016/j.inoche.2025.114297

Authors: Yimin Liu, Zhiqing Lu, Wei Lin, Lei Duan, Yuezhou Wei, Deqian Zeng

Institutions: University of South China, Guangxi University

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques

Subfield: Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Field: Energy

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,550