Study of Iron Group Transition Metal Phosphides (M2p, M=Ni, Co, Fe) for Boosting Photocatalytic H2 Production

•A series of novel noble-metal-free M2P/CdIn2S4 (M2P, M = Fe, Co, Ni) heterojunction was synthesized via hydrothermal method.•M2P could improve the photocatalytic activity of CdIn2S4 in light absorption, carrier separation, active site and H2 evolution overpotential.•For M2P/CdIn2S4 (M = Fe, Co, Ni), the activity severally was 2.4, 3.6 and 6.2 times than CIS-Pt.•The reasonable H2 production mechanism of M2P/CdIn2S4 were researched.