SnS2 nanosheet-based microstructures with high adsorption capabilities and visible light photocatalytic activities

The engineering of semiconductors with high adsorption and visible light-driven photocatalytic activity is of growing interest in the removal of environmental pollutants. Herein, SnS2 nanosheet-based microstructures of flower-like, nanosheet-like, nest-like and nanoplate-like morphologies with high adsorption capacities and visible light photocatalytic activities were experimentally achieved by a facile solution-phase approach based on a simple reaction of SnCl4 center dot 5H(2)O and three hydration sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (C5H10NS2Na center dot 3H(2)O) in a solvent of ethylene glycol with or without the addition of acetic acid, where C5H10NS2Na center dot 3H(2)O served as both a sulfur source and a coordination agent. The negatively charged nature of the as-prepared SnS2 products is responsible for the superior absorptive and visible light photocatalytic performances of cationic dyes. The revelation of the charged nature of the surface of SnS2 nanosheet-based microstructures leads to a new possibility for the design of adsorptive photocatalysts.