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Aqueous synthesis of core/shell/shell CdSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots for photocatalytic hydrogen generation

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Abstract

A novel water-soluble core/shell/shell CdSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dot (QD) is prepared and employed as photocatalysts in the water splitting for hydrogen production. The combination of CdSe with CdS shell and ZnS shell effectively enhances the light harvest ability of the photocatalyst in the visible region, facilitates the separation and transfer of photoinduced electrons and holes and inhibits the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The results of photocatalytic hydrogen production show that the amount of hydrogen produced by CdSe/CdS/ZnS QDs increases significantly within 7 h compared with CdSe QDs and CdSe/CdS QDs. In addition, the excellent recyclability of the photocatalyst makes it more promising for practical application.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers 51703112, 51772162, 21571112, 51572136, 21601103), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, China (Grant Numbers ZR2017BEM040, ZR2016BQ28, ZR2016BQ34), the Taishan Scholars program and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant Numbers 2017M622152).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Eco-chemical Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Liu, Fangxu Dai, Xudong Huai, Jishu Han & Lei Wang

  2. College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, People’s Republic of China

    Ruiyang Zhao

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  1. Ying Liu
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  2. Fangxu Dai
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Correspondence to Jishu Han.

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Liu, Y., Dai, F., Zhao, R. et al. Aqueous synthesis of core/shell/shell CdSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. J Mater Sci 54, 8571–8580 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03484-x

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