Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2026, Vol. 91: 50-67.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65210-2

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CdS-based S-scheme heterojunctions for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Haoyu Longa,b, Xinhe Wuc, Dmitry Selishchevd,*(), Jahan B. Ghasemie,*(), Jiaguo Yua,b,*(), Huogen Yua,b,*()   

  1. a Laboratory of Solar Fuel, Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430078, Hubei, China
    b Inner Mongolia Institute of Technology, China University of geosciences, Ordos 017010, Inner Mongolia, China
    c Hubei Key Laboratory of Pollutant Analysis and Reuse Technology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi 435002, Hubei, China
    d Department of Unconventional Catalytic Processes, Boreskov Institute of Catalysis SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
    e Faculty of Chemistry, School of Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran 1417614335, Iran
  • Received:2026-05-25 Accepted:2026-06-22 Online:2026-12-18 Published:2026-10-13
  • About author:Dmitry Selishchev (Boreskov Institute of Catalysis and Novosibirsk State University, Russia) received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis in 2014. He is currently Leader of the Photo- and Electrocatalysis Research Group and Head of the Laboratory of Electrochemical Technologies. His research interests focus on heterogeneous photocatalysis, photoelectrochemistry, semiconductor heterostructures, environmental purification, water splitting, CO2 reduction, and H2O2 production.
    Jahan B. Ghasemi (University of Tehran, Iran) is a Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Chemistry Department at the University of Tehran. Prof. Ghasemi received his B.Sc. degree from the University of Tehran (Iran) in 1988, and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Analytical Chemistry from Shiraz University (Iran) under Prof. M. Shamsipur in 1991 and 1995, respectively. He carried out postdoctoral research at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) with Professor Mikael Kubista in 2002, and later held a sabbatical position at the University of Delaware (USA) with Prof. S. D. Brown in 2006. Over his career he has held several leadership positions, including Head of the Chemistry Department at K. N. Toosi University of Technology (2011-2013) and at Razi University, as well as Deputy of Research Affairs at K. N. Toosi University of Technology. He currently serves on the editorial boards of BMC Chemistry (Springer Nature, since 2023) and Eureka: Physics and Engineering (since 2022). He is a Distinguished Professor of the University of Tehran (2024) and of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Tehran (2025). His research interests mainly focus on computational and computer-assisted drug design, molecular modeling, photocatalysts, chemometrics, and analytical and environmental applications of nanomaterials. He has published more than 470 peer-reviewed papers.
    Jiaguo Yu (China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)) received his BS and MS in chemistry from the Central China Normal University and Xi’an Jiaotong University, respectively, and PhD in materials science from the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT). His research interests include semiconductor photocatalysis, photocatalytic hydrogen production, CO2 reduction, perovskite solar cells, and electrocatalysis. He is a Foreign Member of Academia Europaea (2020) and a Foreign Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (2020). He obtained the 35th Khwarizmi International Award (2022). His name was also on the list of Highly Cited Researchers from Clarivate Analytics (previously Thomson Reuters) from 2014-2024.
    Huogen Yu (China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)) was invited as invited as a young member of the 5th, a member of 6th and 7th Editorial Board of Chin. J. Catal. Prof. Huogen Yu received his PhD from Wuhan University of Technology (WHUT) in 2007. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tokyo from 2008 to 2010. Upon returning to WHUT, he was promoted to full professor in the same year. Since January 2023, he has held a professorship at the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). His research primarily focuses on high-performance photocatalytic materials for water splitting and environmental purification. To date, he has published more than 200 SCI-indexed papers in internationally renowned journals, including Nature Communications, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Advanced Materials, and JACS, which have garnered over 20000 citations. Based on the Scopus database from Elsevier, he has been recognized as one of the Most Cited Chinese Researchers from 2014 to 2025.
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(22678545);National Natural Science Foundation of China(U23A20102);National Natural Science Foundation of China(U24A2071);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22361142704);National Natural Science Foundation of China(W2512051);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22302061);the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province(2025AFB018)

Abstract:

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is a promising visible-light-responsive photocatalyst for solar-driven hydrogen (H2) production owing to its suitable band structure, yet pristine CdS generally exhibits only moderate photocatalytic activity because of rapid charge-carrier recombination and severe photocorrosion. Step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunctions offer a structural solution to circumvent these bottlenecks. By driving the directional recombination of less reactive charge carriers at the physical interface, the S-scheme mechanism preserves the charge carriers with the strongest redox potentials. This specific pathway maintains robust H2 evolution kinetics while transferring oxidizing holes away from CdS, effectively mitigating self-oxidation. This review systematically summarizes recent advancements in CdS based S-scheme heterojunctions. We elucidate the fundamental thermodynamic principles and evaluate rational interfacial design strategies across diverse structural dimensions. Furthermore, we highlight the rigorous experimental evidence required to verify charge transfer pathways using advanced dynamic characterization techniques. Finally, we outline current challenges and future directions toward practical applications.

Key words: Cadmium sulfide, S-scheme heterojunctions, Photocatalytic H2 evolution, Interfacial engineering, In-situ characterization, Carrier dynamics