Hierarchical microspheres: in situ assembly of CdS quantum dots on Cd2SnO4 nanosheets with enhanced visible light photocatalytic properties

Guimin Zhang; Zhengyi Fu; Yucheng Wang; Hao Wang; Zheng Xie

doi:10.1039/C5RA17679D

Hierarchical microspheres: in situ assembly of CdS quantum dots on Cd₂SnO₄ nanosheets with enhanced visible light photocatalytic properties†

Guimin Zhang,^a Zhengyi Fu,*^b Yucheng Wang,^b Hao Wang^b and Zheng Xie^a

* Corresponding authors

^a School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Life Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
E-mail: zhangguimin@whut.edu.cn

^b State Key Lab of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
E-mail: zyfu@whut.edu.cn

Abstract

A CdS/Cd₂SnO₄ composite was successfully synthesized via a one step solvothermal route synergistically assisted by L-cysteine and diethanolamine. The composite is composed of CdS quantum dots stuffed in hierarchical Cd₂SnO₄ microspheres with a diameter of around 2 μm, which are assembled from nanosheets with a thickness of 20–50 nm. The band gap of the composite is 2.46 eV, which is higher than pure phase CdS and Cd₂SnO₄, due to the quantum size effect from CdS QDs. One possible formation mechanism of the composite is presented; the initial precipitation of Sn(OH)₂ serves as a template, and the complexes of L-cysteine coordinated with metal ion provide structural direction for the hierarchical microspheres. The CdS/Cd₂SnO₄ composite showed superior adsorption ability and enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity in the degradation of RhB to CdS, Cd₂SnO₄, and Degussa P-25, due to its microstructure and the efficient charge separation at the interface of CdS and Cd₂SnO₄.

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C5RA17679D
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 01 Sep 2015
Accepted: 28 Sep 2015
First published: 28 Sep 2015

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RSC Adv., 2015,5, 83922-83930

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Hierarchical microspheres: in situ assembly of CdS quantum dots on Cd₂SnO₄ nanosheets with enhanced visible light photocatalytic properties

G. Zhang, Z. Fu, Y. Wang, H. Wang and Z. Xie, RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 83922 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA17679D

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