CdS/ZnSnO3 Hollow Core–Shell Nanocubes for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution and Degradation of Ciprofloxacin

The Sn2+ ion self-doping CdS/ZnSnO3 hollow core–shell cubic heterojunction photocatalyst is fabricated via an approach of hybrid coprecipitation-annealing-reduction-chemical method. As reported, the as-prepared CdS/Sn2+–ZnSnO3 heterojunction exhibits prominent enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER, ∼5218.71 μmol·g–1·h–1, Na2S + Na2SO3 sacrificial agent) and degradation than that of ZnSnO3 (∼120/8.3-folds) and CdS (∼50/5.2-folds). There, the CdS/Sn2+-ZSO with a greater potential gradient can promote the carrier separation; CdS with a higher absorption can increase the visible-light response; and the Sn2+/Ov with a shallow donor level can regulate the potential structure, increase the intrinsic carrier injection, and promote the carrier transportation. All of these can optimize the carrier efficiency effectively, including increasing the transportation, prolonging the lifetime, and decreasing the recombination. In addition, the CdS nanoshell can provide vast active sites and the hollow cubic structure with large internal cavities can enhance the solar efficiency, while retaining good stability during photocatalysis.