NiCo Layered Double Hydroxide Bearing ZnIn2S4 Nanosheets for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Cr(VI) Reduction

Taking advantage of Ni2+ etching on Co-ZIF-L, NiCo layered double hydroxide (NiCo-LDH) with a leaf-like structure and rough surface was achieved and then employed as the structural template to rationally develop a two-dimensional and core-shell NiCo-LDH/ZnIn2S4 composite. Owing to the morphological merits as well as the tight interfacial contact and enhanced contact area between NiCo-LDH and ZnIn2S4 (ZIS), electron transfer to solve the inherent fast photoinduced electron and hole recombination issue of ZIS. Benefiting from this, NiCoLDH/ZIS with the optimized NiCo-LDH content displayed a high photocatalytic Cr(VI) reduction efficiency and was able to reduce 30 mg/L Cr(VI) within only 3 min under visible light, making it a very promising photocatalyst to treat polluted water containing Cr(VI).

Automated summary

By taking advantage of Ni2+ etching on Co-ZIF-L, a leaf-like NiCo layered double hydroxide (NiCo-LDH) with rough surface was prepared and used as the structure template for the synthesis of a two-dimensional core-shell NiCo-LDH/ZnIn2S4 composite. The tight interfacial contact and enhanced contact area between NiCo-LDH and ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) enable efficient electron transfer, addressing the fast photoinduced electron and hole recombination issue of ZIS. Consequently, the optimized NiCo-LDH content in the NiCoLDH/ZIS composite exhibits a high photocatalytic Cr(VI) reduction efficiency, capable of reducing 30 mg/L Cr(VI) within 3 min under visible light, which makes it a promising photocatalyst for Cr(VI) removal in polluted water.