Enhanced hydrogen evolution rates at high pH with a colloidal cadmium sulphide–platinum hybrid system
Julian Schneider,
Aleksandar Vaneski,
Georg R. Pesch,
Andrei S. Susha,
Wey Yang Teoh,
Andrey L. Rogach
Affiliations
Julian Schneider
Department of Physics and Materials Science and Centre for Functional Photonics (CFP), City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Aleksandar Vaneski
Department of Physics and Materials Science and Centre for Functional Photonics (CFP), City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Georg R. Pesch
Clean Energy and Nanotechnology (CLEAN) Laboratory, School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Andrei S. Susha
Department of Physics and Materials Science and Centre for Functional Photonics (CFP), City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Wey Yang Teoh
Clean Energy and Nanotechnology (CLEAN) Laboratory, School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Andrey L. Rogach
Department of Physics and Materials Science and Centre for Functional Photonics (CFP), City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
We demonstrate enhanced hydrogen generation rates at high pH using colloidal cadmium sulphide nanorods decorated with Pt nanoparticles. We introduce a simplified procedure for the decoration and subsequent hydrogen generation, reducing both the number of working steps and the materials costs. Different Pt precursor concentrations were tested to reveal the optimal conditions for the efficient hydrogen evolution. A sharp increase in hydrogen evolution rates was measured at pH 13 and above, a condition at which the surface charge transfer was efficiently mediated by the formation of hydroxyl radicals and further consumption by the sacrificial triethanolamine hole scavenger.
