Visible-light-driven photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical properties of porous SnSx(x = 1,2) architectures

Abstract

By using a facile and template-free polyol refluxing process, we reported the successful synthesis of porous SnS and SnS₂ architectures on a large scale. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by using XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-vis DRS, Raman and N₂ adsorption–desorption analyses. Studies revealed that the as-synthesized SnS and SnS₂ products mainly consist of porous flower-like microstructures with reasonable BET surface areas of 66 m² g⁻¹ and 33 m² g⁻¹, respectively. Photocatalytic properties of trace amounts of samples were investigated by photodegradation of MB and RhB under visible light irradiation. The photoelectrochemical properties of both samples were also studied by configuring the samples as photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells, exhibiting excellent photosensitivity and response with greatly enhanced I_on/off as high as 1.4 × 10³, three orders of magnitude higher than previous work. The results indicate the potential applications of the SnS_x nanostructures in visible-light-driven photocatalysts, high response photodetectors and other optoelectronic nanodevices.