Novel Au/CaIn2S4 nanocomposites with plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation

A series of Au/CaIn2S4 nanocomposites with different Au contents were prepared by a simple photoreduction process. Under visible light irradiation, the as-prepared Au/CaIn2S4 nanocomposites exhibited plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) compared to that of bare CaIn2S4. The sample with 4 wt% Au hybridized CaIn2S4 exhibited the highest photocatalytic efficiency for MB degradation compared with those of the other nanocomposites. The mechanism for improving the photocatalytic performance of the Au/CaIn2S4 nanocomposites was proposed by using the photoluminescence measurement and electrochemical analyses. The enhanced photocatalytic performance could be attributed to the high separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. This work could provide a new insight into the fabrication of CaIn2S4-based plasmonic photocatalysts with enhanced performance.