In2S3 nanoflakes-functionalized cotton cellulose electrospun nanofibers for visible light photocatalysis

Abstract

Abstract:We report a simple and effective route to fabricate ultrathin curved In 2 S 3 nanoflakes-functionalized natural cotton cellulose nanofibers by combining electrospinning and hydrothermal growth technique. Cotton cellulose nanofibers(CCNFs) were obtained by electrospinning technique. Curved and interconnected In 2 S 3 nanoflakes with 10-15nm in thickness were successfully grown on the surface of CCNFs via hydrothermal process. The as-prepared CCNFs/In 2 S 3 nanocomposites were characterized by SEM, EDS, XRD and UV-vis spectrophotometry. It was found that In 2 S 3 nanoflakes were uniform morphology with the cubic crystal structure, which band gap is responsed to visible light. The photocatalytic activity indicated that the CCNFs/In 2 S 3 nanocomposites exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) solutions under the irradiation of visible light. IntroductionBecause of excessive consumption of fossil fuels and subsequent environmental concerns, it is urgent to develop sustainable and renewable energy that is environmentally friendly [1]. As one of the most abundant renewable natural resources and environment-friendly materials, cellulose has great potential industrial applications through modifying. In our previous work, we have fabricated functionalized cotton cellulose nanofibers (CCNFs). The CCNFs can be regarded as a good substrate to load inorganic functional nanomaterials duo to its large specific surface and a lot of hydroxyl groups on its surface. We have combined UV reduction and electrospinning techniques to produce CCNFs/Ag nanocomposites[2] and have prepared CeO 2 nanoparticles on the CCNFs by hydrothermal method, which has fine ultraviolet absorption performance [3].Inorganic semiconductor materials could be loaded on the CCNFs to get nanocomposites with better performance than single semiconductor materials. Among the most widely used inorganic semiconductor materials, In 2 S 3 has many potential applications for photocatalysis to decompose dye and solar cells due to its low toxicity, good stability, narrow band gap (2.0-2.3eV), and high carrier mobility [4]. In 2 S 3 can exhibit three different structure forms: α-In 2 S 3 (defect cubic), β-In 2 S 3 (defect spinel), and γ-In 2 S 3 (layered structure), among which β-In 2 S 3 is an n-type semiconductor owning a defect spinel structure [5]. In this paper, we intend to synthesize the flake-like In 2 S 3 on the CCNFs by a facile hydrothermal method and investigate the photocatalytic performance of CCNFs/In 2 S 3 under visible light irradiation. ExperimentalFabrication of CCNFs/In 2 S 3 Nanocomposites: All chemical reagents are analytical grade and directly used without further purification. The preparation of CCNFs by electrospinning process is the same as our previous research [2]. In 2 S 3 seed layer was loaded on the surface of CCNFs by using the successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. In the SILAR process of In 2 S 3 seeds layer deposition, the CCNFs were dipped sequentially in aqueo...