One-pot synthesis of flower-like SnS2/SnO2 heterojunction with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance

Herein, the combined strategy of coupling SnS2 was adopted to modify SnO2 nanoparticles to construct SnS2/SnO2 heterostructure. The as-prepared SnS2/SnO2 composites were characterized by XRD, TEM, XPS, UV–vis, transient photocurrent and photoluminescence spectra technologies. TEM results proved SnS2/SnO2 composites showed flower-like structure. UV–vis spectra suggested that the introduction of SnS2 can prolong light absorption range to visible region. The photocatalytic activity of SnS2/SnO2 composites were measured by degrading methyl orange and Cr (VI). The SnS2/SnO2 heterojunction exhibited excellent photodegradation activity compared with pure SnO2 and SnS2, and the MO degradation rates were up to 98% and 96% after 120 min irradiation under UV and visible, and 98% and 95% of Cr (VI) were degraded by the composites in 120 min, respectively. The superior photocatalytic performance was due to the effective separation of photoinduced carriers and enhanced light absorption, which was proved by the transient photocurrent, photoluminescence, and UV–vis spectra. Photocatalytic mechanism was further studied through free radical capture experiments and theoretical calculations. Our research provides a novel design for the synthesis of SnO2-based composites with effective removal of environmental pollutants.