A highly active Z-scheme SnS/Zn2SnO4 photocatalyst fabricated for methylene blue degradation

Yingjing Wang; Fen Xu; Lixian Sun; Yaying Li; Lumin Liao; Yanxun Guan; Jianhao Lao; Yukai Yang; Tianhao Zhou; Yu Wang; Bin Li; Kexiang Zhang; Yongjin Zou

doi:10.1039/d2ra05519h

A highly active Z-scheme SnS/Zn₂SnO₄ photocatalyst fabricated for methylene blue degradation

RSC Adv. 2022 Nov 8;12(49):31985-31995. doi: 10.1039/d2ra05519h. eCollection 2022 Nov 3.

Authors

Yingjing Wang¹, Fen Xu¹, Lixian Sun¹, Yaying Li¹, Lumin Liao¹, Yanxun Guan¹, Jianhao Lao¹, Yukai Yang¹, Tianhao Zhou¹, Yu Wang¹, Bin Li¹, Kexiang Zhang¹, Yongjin Zou¹

Affiliation

¹ Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, Guangxi Collaborative Innovation Center for Structure and Properties for New Energy and Materials, School of Material Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology Guilin 541004 P. R. China xufen@guet.edu.cn sunlx@guet.edu.cn.

Abstract

Herein, a highly active Z-scheme SnS/Zn₂SnO₄ photocatalyst is fabricated by a one-step hydrothermal route. The structure, composition, photoelectric and photocatalytic properties of the as-prepared photocatalysts are systematically researched. The results demonstrate that SZS-6 displays a good photocatalytic performance with an efficiency of 94.5% to degrade methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). And its degradation rate constant is up to 0.0331 min^-1, which is 3.9 and 4.4 times faster than SnS and Zn₂SnO₄, respectively. The formation of a Z-scheme heterojunction facilitates the separation and transfer of charges, which improves the degradation of MB. The Z-scheme charge transfer pathway of the SnS/Zn₂SnO₄ photocatalyst is verified by the shifted peaks of the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum, the relative position of the bandgap, work function as well as free radical trapping experiments. The photocatalytic mechanism for the degradation of MB by SnS/Zn₂SnO₄ is proposed.