Synthesis of Nanosized SnS-TiO2 Photocatalysts with Excellent Degradation Effect of TBA under Visible Light Irradiation

Abstract

SnS-TiO 2 nanocomposites are synthesized using simple, cheap, and less toxic SnCl 2 as the tin (II) precursor.The prepared nanoparticles are characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS).The XRD and TEM results indicate that the prepared product has SnS nanoparticles and a grain diameter of 30 nm.The DRS demonstrate that SnS-TiO 2 possesses the absorption profile across the entire visible light region.The generation of reactive oxygen species is detected through the oxidation reaction from 1,5-diphenyl carbazide (DPCI) to 1,5-diphenyl carbazone (DPCO).It is found that the photocurrent density and photocatalytic effect increase with the modified SnS.Excellent catalytic degradation of Texbrite BA-L (TBA) solution is observed using the SnS-TiO 2 composites under visible light irradiation.It is proposed that both the strong visible light absorption and the multiple exciton excitations contribute to the high visible light photocatalytic activity.