Hydrogen solar fuel generation from photocatalytic decomposition of H2S-containing media via nanostructured solid-solution semiconductor

Hydrogen sulfide is a flammable, malodorous, highly toxic and corrosive compound which is produced in large quantities as a by-product in many industrial processes. However, it will be economically and environmentally advantageous if it is photodecomposed to generate hydrogen, which is a clean and renewable energy carrier. In this paper, a nanostructured solid-solution semiconductor material from the family of cadmium-zinc-sulfide was synthesized through a facile hydrothermal method and was applied as alloy photocatalyst to generate hydrogen fuel via a H2S photodecomposition process. Morphological and optical properties of the sample have been characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, EDS and UV-vis DRS techniques. Solid-solution semiconductor exhibited a good photocatalytic performance.