In2O3 microspheres decorated with ZnIn2S4 nanosheets as core-shell hybrids for boosting visible-light photodegradation of organic dyes

In this work, we firstly report the development of ZnIn2S4 nanosheets decorating In2O3 microspheres with core-shell structure by an in situ synthetic process, which is proved to be an effective method to construct promising semiconductor photocatalysts for photodegradation of methyl blue (MB) under visible-light conditions. Under visible-light illumination, the 2D/3D ZnIn2S4 nanosheet/In2O3 microsphere hybrids exhibit excellent enhancing photoactivity than that of pristine In2O3, The effect of ZnIn2S4 substitution on photoactivity was also investigated for comparative experiments and it was found that the optimized ZnIn2S4/In2O3-1:1 hybrid exhibits the highest photoactivity of 84.5%. The experimental results indicated that the reputably photocatalytic performance of ZnIn2S4/In2O3 can be attributed to the synergistic effect of efficient separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs, extended visible-light response range, and the improved specific surface area. Furthermore, the roles of center dot O-2(-), center dot OH, and h(+) during the photodegradation process were studied to deduce the possible degradation mechanism. This work provides an effective strategy to construct the In2O3-based photocatalytic systems for efficient photodegradation of organic pollutants, which would be significant for the design of more In2O3-based systems for promising photocatalytic applications.

Automated summary

The study reported the development of ZnIn2S4 nanosheets on In2O3 microspheres with core-shell structure by an in situ synthetic process, proving to be an effective method for constructing promising semiconductor photocatalysts. Experimental results showed that the ZnIn2S4/In2O3 exhibited reputable photocatalytic performance due to efficient separation of electron-hole pairs, extended visible-light response range, and improved specific surface area.