TiO2 nanoparticles incorporated with CuInS2 clusters: preparation and photocatalytic activity for degradation of 4-nitrophenol

✍ Scribed by Shi-Zhao Kang; Yi-Kai Yang; Wenbo Bu; Jin Mu

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 385 KB
• Volume: 182
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-4596
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jssc.2009.08.014

✦ Synopsis

TiO 2 nanoparticles incorporated with CuInS 2 clusters were prepared in a solvothermal process and characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energydispersion X-ray analysis (EDX). Compared with pure TiO 2 nanoparticles, the TiO 2 nanoparticles incorporated with CuInS 2 clusters display higher photocatalytic activity with 99.9% of degradation ratio of 4-nitrophenol after 2 h irradiation. In order to investigate the effect of the CuInS 2 clusters on the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 nanoparticles, diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectra (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) spectra, and photocurrent action spectra were measured. The results indicate that the enhanced photocatalytic activity is probably due to the interface between TiO 2 and CuInS 2 as a trap of the photogenerated electrons to decrease the recombination of electrons and holes.