Preparation and photocatalytic activity of high-efficiency visible-light-responsive photocatalyst SnSx/TiO2

Visible-light-responsive composite photocatalysts SnS2/TiO2 and SnS/TiO2 with different mass ratios were prepared by in-situ synthesis technology in solution with commercial TiO2. The junction-based materials SnSx (x = 1, 2)/TiO2 were found to have high visible-light photocatalytic performance and possess much better activity than the single-phase SnSx or TiO2. The greatly enhanced photocatalytic activity of the SnSx/TiO2 composites was mainly attributed to the matching band potentials and efficient charge transfer and separation at the tight-bonding interface between SnSx and TiO2. The fact was confirmed by the comparison of photocatalytic activities of the SnS2/TiO2 samples prepared by physical mixing method and in-situ synthesis technique. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.