Decorating ZnCdS with C,N Co-Doped CoP: An Efficient Dual-Functional Photocatalyst for H Evolution and 2,5-Diformylfuran Oxidation.

Photocatalytic H evolution and biomass-derived alcohol oxidation is a cooperative way for improving the utilization of photogenerated charge carriers. Herein, a highly efficient photocatalyst was fabricated by decorating ZnCdS with a C,N codoped CoP polyhedron (referred to as CoP, derived from ZIF-67), and then it was used for H evolution and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) oxidation. For the optimized sample (20% CoP/ZnCdS), the generated H rate is significantly enhanced from that of the HMF aqueous solution with 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) as a concomitant product, about 31.7 times higher than the pristine ZnCdS under visible light irradiation. The separation of photoexcited electrons (e) and holes (h) in the process was promoted, as both e and h were involved in the desired conversions. From the results of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and XPS spectra, the utilization of e was further improved as a spontaneous transfer from ZnCdS to CoP occurred due to the p-n heterojunction formed between ZnCdS (n type) and CoP (p type). This work provides an efficient method to separate the photoinduced charge carriers and a new way for H evolution accompanied by transformation of HMF to DFF.