核壳结构CdS/ZnS微米球表面处理与光催化制氢性能的关系

具有高活性和稳定性的半导体光催化材料是太阳能光催化制氢领域的研究热点,其中CdS胶体颗粒催化剂因其合适的禁带宽度和带边位置以及较低的原料价格而广受关注.但它在水溶液中不稳定,易受光腐蚀,因而限制了其应用.目前人们致力于用各种方法提高其稳定性,包括各种纳米结构的应用、复合其他催化剂材料以及不同晶相结构复合.ZnS是一种宽禁宽半导体,禁带宽度为3.6 eV,常被用来与CdS形成固溶体调控其能带结构,从而提高其性能和稳定性.其中核壳结构CdS/ZnS异质结具有骑跨型(I型)能带结构,具有特殊的光学和电学性质,在量子点LED和量子点生物荧光显示剂方面获得关注和应用,同时也显示了良好的光催化性能.研究人员对核壳结构CdS/ZnS异质结材料中ZnS壳层厚度对其光学性能包括荧光效率等的影响进行了研究,然而ZnS壳层厚度、颗粒尺寸及其表面处理对光催化性能影响方面的报道很少.本文发展了一种简易的两步法,制备了核壳结构CdS/ZnS微米球光催化剂.首先采用超声喷雾热分解法制备CdS微米球,然后以水浴法在CdS微米球上生长ZnS壳层.采用扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、紫外-可见吸收光谱(UV-vis)和透射电镜(TEM)对所得样品进行了表征.SEM和TEM结果显示,所得微米球为完整包裹的球形核壳结构;XRD表征证实CdS核与ZnS壳层皆为六角相晶型;光催化性能表征结果显示,该样品的光催化制氢性能远高于单独的CdS微米球以及同法所制的ZnS微米球.通过改变前驱液浓度(Zn源浓度分别为0.2,0.3和0.5 mol/L)获得了三种不同厚度的核壳结构CdS/ZnS微米球,X射线荧光光谱结果证实了其壳层厚度成功调控.UV-vis结果发现,其吸收边由内核CdS决定,受壳层厚度的影响不大.光致荧光发射光谱分析发现,随着壳层厚度的增加,其540 nm处的CdS带边发射峰强度逐渐增大.这可能是由于ZnS壳层对CdS表面缺陷的钝化作用降低了其非辐射复合过程,从而提高了荧光发光效率.光催化制氢性能结果表明,前驱液浓度为0.3 mol/L时合成的核壳结构CdS/ZnS微米球的产氢效率最高.为了进一步提高其光催化效率,采用氮气中高温热处理、水热二次硫化法以及两者共用三种方式对性能最优的微米球进行改性,获得了三种核壳结构CdS/ZnS样品.结果发现,这些改性方法未影响其吸收边,但水热二次硫化法处理以及两者共用处理的样品在540 nm处的光致荧光发射峰强度明显高于未处理的和高温热处理的样品,证实水热二次硫化法处理可以有效地消除其表面缺陷,减少非辐射复合.XRD结果表明其晶型没有发生变化.TEM表征发现,经高温热处理后其壳层发生重结晶,形成颗粒包裹形貌,而经水热二次硫化法处理后其壳层同样发生重结晶,但包裹颗粒的尺寸明显更小.光催化性能测试表明,处理后样品的光催化性能皆优于未处理样品,其中两者共用法处理的样品产氢性能和稳定性最高.

Surface treatment effect on the photocatalytic hydrogen generation of CdS/ZnS core-shell microstructures

CdS/ZnS core-shell microparticles were prepared by a simple two-step method combining ultra-sonic spray pyrolysis and chemical bath deposition. The core-shell structures showed enhanced photocatalytic properties compared with those of CdS or ZnS spherical particles. CdS/ZnS photo-catalysts with different amount of ZnS loaded as shells were prepared by adjusting the concentra-tions of Zn and S precursors during synthesis. The optical properties and photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production were investigated and the amount of ZnS loaded as shell was optimized. Thermal annealing and hydrothermal sulfurization treatments were applied to the core-shell struc-ture and both treatments enhanced the material's photocatalytic activity and stability by eliminat-ing crystalline defects and surface states. The result showed that thermal annealing treatment im-proved the bulk crystallinity and hydrothermal sulfurization improved the surface properties. The sample subjected to both treatments showed the highest photocatalytic activity. These results indi-cate that CdS/ZnS core-shell microspheres are a simple structure that can be used as efficient pho-tocatalysts. The hydrothermal sulfurization treatment may also be a useful surface treatment for metal sulfide photocatalysts. The simple two-step method provides a promising approach to the large-scale synthesis of core-shell microsphere catalysts.