Fabrication of SnO2/SnS2 hybrids by anchoring ultrafine SnO2 nanocrystals on SnS2 nanosheets and their photocatalytic properties

Ultrafine SnO2 nanocrystals with sizes of 4 nm have been successfully loaded on the SnS2 nanosheets to fabricate SnO2/SnS2 hybrids via a facile hydrothermal method. The obtained samples are well characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV vis spectroscopy, photoluminence (PL) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The experimental results indicate that the SnO2 nanocrystals of similar to 4 nm are well dispersed and intimately anchored on the SnS2 nanosheets to form nanosized heterojunctions, which can be favorable to the separation of photo-generated holes and electrons. Consequently, the SnO2/SnS2 hybrids demonstrate obviously enhanced photocatalytic activities for reduction of Cr (VI) under visible light compared with both the bare SnO2 and SnS2. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.