Enhanced interface charge separation using SnIn4S8 modified dandelion-like diethylenetriamine-CdS for boosting photocatalytic performance

Building intimate interface of heterojunction is crucial to boosting photocatalytic activity via accelerating charge carrier separation. In this paper, for the first time, 0D/3D SnIn 4 S 8 /diethylenetriamine-CdS (SIS/D-CdS) type-II nano-heterojunction is constructed by in-situ hydrothermal method, which focuses on improving the solar H 2 evolution. Strikingly, SEM, HR-TEM images strongly demonstrate 0D SIS loading on 3D dandelion-like D-CdS surfaces. Among all the nano-heterojunctions, the final optimized 7-SIS/D-CdS displays 4.6 times and 2.8 times higher than that of pristine D-CdS and p-7 % SIS/D-CdS in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate, respectively. Furthermore, the AQE reaches 21.57 % under 420 nm monochromatic wavelength light irradiation. Meanwhile, composite material exhibits excellent stability during multiple cycles process. In particular, the TC degradation efficiency of 7-SIS/D-CdS reaches 89.4 % within 40 min. This improved photocatalytic activity and photostability are ascribed to fact that the formation of high-quality interface with intimate contact over the SIS/D-CdS nano-heterojunction and SIS as hole capture agent. XPS analysis, work functions, and charge density distributions results further elucidate the charge transfer path between D-CdS and SIS over SIS/D-CdS nanocomposite. Therefore, a possible photocatalytic charge carrier migration mechanism is proposed. This work not only enriches the application of SnIn 4 S 8 -modified composites in photocatalytic H 2 system, but also provides a very promising strategy for designing high-efficient photocatalysts.