Synthesis of Ag2O and Ag co-modified flower-like SnS2 composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity under solar light irradiation

Three-dimensional Ag2O and Ag co-modified flower-like SnS2 composites have been synthesized through a facile hydrothermal and photoreduction process. The physical and chemical properties of Ag2O and Ag co-modified flower-like SnS2 composites were carefully studied by using XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) and XPS. The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared products was.evaluated by photocatalytic decolorization of Rhodamine B (Rh B) aqueous solution at ambient temperature under solar light irradiation. The photocatalytic result shows that Ag2O and Ag co-modified flower-like SnS2 composites exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with that of pure SnS2. Three of the Ag2O and Ag co-modified flower-like SnS2 composites form the Z-scheme systems, because of their unique charge-carrier transfer process, the oxidation/reduction ability of photogenerated holes and electrons could be enhanced. Therefore, the new Ag2O and Ag co-modified flower-like SnS2 composites possess a favorable photocatalytic activity, and it can be a promising candidate for the solar energy conversion process. (C) 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.