Facile synthesis of hierarchical ZnIn2S4/CdIn2S4 microspheres with enhanced visible light driven photocatalytic activity

Hierarchical ZnIn2S4/CdIn2S4 microspheres have been synthesized by a facile chemical co-precipitation method at low temperature. The obtained samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, and UV-vis DRS. The XRD patterns of ZnIn2S4/CdIn(2)S(4)showed the distinctive peaks of both ZnIn2S4 and CdIn2S4. The obtained ZnIn2S4 microspheres were composed of numerous large nanoplates, while CdIn2S4 micro spheres possessed a relatively smooth surface. As for ZnIn2S4/CdIn2S4 composites, it was observed that partial of the ZnIn2S4 nanoplates were grown on the surface of CdIn2S4 microspheres. The absorption edge of ZnIn2S4 move toward longer wavelengths with the increment of CdIn2S4 component. In the photocatalytic degradation of MO, the ZnIn2S4/CdIn2S4 (mole ratio 1:3) photocatalyst exhibited the best activity compared with pure ZnIn2S4 and CdIn2S4. The degradation ratio of MO (10 ppm) was about 99.7% after 90 min of reaction, while RhB (4 x 10(-5) M) could be completely degraded within 70 min over ZnIn2S4/CdIn2S4. The activity enhancement can be ascribed to the improvement of visible light adsorption and separation efficiency enhancement of photo-generated carriers. Controlled experiments proved that active species of *02-, OH, and h' were produced in the degradation system, which played the major role in the degradation process. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.