Enhanced renewable photoelectrochemical hydrogen production based on CdS nanospheres/NiO nanorods deposited on anodized commercial Zn-Fe mesh as a novel photoanode

Economical, easy, and time-saving processes were employed to fabricate CdSNSps/NiO–ZnO–Fe₂O₃NRs mesh for photoelectrochemical water-splitting reaction. The photoanode was fabricated through co-anodizing of commercial galvanized mesh in a solution containing Ni⁺² precursor to decorate NiO–ZnO–Fe₂O₃ nanorods onto the galvanized mesh and followed by dropwise chemical deposition of CdS nanospheres onto the previously modified mesh. The surface investigations showed that the obtained CdSNSps/NiO–ZnO–Fe₂O₃NRs mesh possesses a unique morphology containing nanorods deposited with CdS nanospheres, obtaining a large active surface area for photoelectrochemical water-splitting. UV–VIS diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) displayed CdSNSps/NiO–ZnO–Fe₂O₃NRs mesh has a lower band gap energy of 2.34 eV compared to ~ 3.9 eV for anodized galvanized mesh, confirming excellent photocatalytic behavior of CdSNSps/NiO–ZnO–Fe₂O₃NRs mesh. The photoelectrochemical water-splitting investigations under visible light irradiation displayed that the H₂ production rate of CdSNSps/NiO–ZnO–Fe₂O₃NRs mesh was about 6455 μmol h⁻¹ cm⁻², which was approximately 5.3, 1.76, and 1.51 times that of galvanized mesh, anodized galvanized mesh, NiO–ZnO–Fe₂O₃NRs mesh, respectively. Considering the easy and low-cost preparation of the final photo-anode, it seems that the CdSNSps/NiO–ZnO–Fe₂O₃NRs mesh can be used as an appropriate photoelectrode with high efficiency to produce renewable hydrogen gas on an industrial scale.