Facilitated electron transfer by Mn dopants in 1-dimensional CdS nanorods for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen generation

Using sunlight to produce hydrogen gas via photocatalytic water splitting is highly desirable for green energy harvesting and sustainability. In this work, Mn²⁺ doped 1-dimensional (1D) CdS nanorods (NRs) with Pt tips (i.e., 1D Mn:CdS-Pt NRs) were synthesized for photocatalytic water splitting to generate hydrogen gas. The incorporation of Mn²⁺ dopants inside the 1D CdS NRs with a significantly longer lifetime (∼ms) than that of host excitons (∼ns) facilitates charge separation; the electron transfer to metal Pt tips leads to enhanced photocatalytic activity in water splitting redox reactions. The as-synthesized Mn²⁺ doped CdS NR-based photocatalyst generated an order of magnitude greater yield of hydrogen gas compared to the undoped CdS NR-based photocatalyst. The enhanced charge transport from the long lifetime excited state of Mn²⁺ dopants in light harvesting semiconductor nanomaterials presents a new opportunity to increase the overall photocatalytic performance.