Effects of anions on the photocatalytic H₂ production performance of hydrothermally synthesized Ni-doped Cd_0.1Zn _0.9S photocatalysts

A series of Ni²⁺ doped Cd_0.1Zn_0.9S photocatalysts were prepared with different salt by hydrothermal method. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, UV-Vis, BET and SEM. The effects of SO₄^2-, CH₃COO^-, Cl ^- and NO₃^- anions on the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of these photocatalysts were examined. Experimental results showed that the photocatalysts prepared with acetates and chlorides have the highest hydrogen production activity, and their initial hydrogen production rate reaches to 76.52 μmol/h and 80.75 μmol/h under visible-light irradiation with the apparent quantum yield of 12.30% and 14.36% at 420 nm without any noble metal loading, respectively. The absence of noble metal is propitious to reduce the cost of photocatalyst preparation.