A novel Pd–Cr2O3/CdS photocatalyst for solar hydrogen production using a regenerable sacrificial donor

Noble metals and transition-metal oxides are needed as cocatalysts for facilitating H2 production over photocatalysts. Such cocatalysts are typically deposited as nanoparticles on the catalyst surface using impregnation or photodeposition methods, for which an activation treatment process is necessary. In this paper, we describe a facile method that utilizes a Pd–Cr2O3 nanocomposite cocatalyst at room temperature for the efficient production of H2 without the need of an activation treatment process. The Pd–Cr2O3/CdS photocatalyst shows a higher hydrogen evolution rate than that of a plain Pd metal loaded catalyst. Formation of a composite structure appears to be an important reason for the increased performance of Pd–Cr2O3/CdS photocatalyst.