Low-Temperature and Template-Free Synthesis of ZnIn₂S₄ Microspheres

Abstract

Porous ZnIn2S4 microspheres have been successfully synthesized by means of a facile thermal solution method at 353 K. This method was a simple route that involved low temperature, no templates, no catalysts, no surfactants, or organic solvents. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, nitrogen sorption analysis, and a UV-vis spectrophotometer were used to characterize the products. The results demonstrated that the microspheres, which were composed of many ZnIn2S4 single crystal nanosheets, underwent the Oswald ripening and self-assembly processes. A morphology formation mechanism has been proposed and discussed. The porous ZnIn2S4 product showed an enhancing visible-light photocatalytic activity for methyl orange degradation. The as-grown architectures may have potential applications in solar energy conversion, environmental remediation, and advanced optical/electric nanodevices.

Architecture of rose and hollow marigold-like ZnIn2S4 flowers: structural, optical and photocatalytic study

“…13 There are several reports of ZnIn 2 S 4 in the literature with different morphologies using effective methods/ strategies. [13][14][15][16][17][18] Furthermore, Shen et al employed nanostructured ZnIn 2 S 4 for hydrogen evolution, and the photocatalytic activity of the ZnIn 2 S 4 was greatly affected by the crystal plane spacing along the c-axis. 17 Considering the importance of the band and crystal structure of ZnIn 2 S 4 , hierarchically hollow microspheres and faceted growth of nanosheets are usually relevant to the self-assembly process, and are promising in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.…”

One-pot synthesis and visible light photocatalytic activity of monodispersed AgIn5S8 microspheres

“…As can be seen from Fig. 5, the nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm of AgIn 5 S 8 belongs with type-IV [19]. The BrunauerEmmett-Teller (BET) surface area of AgIn 5 S 8 microspheres is 78.3 m 2 g À1 .…”

“…CdIn 2 S 4 nanorods [16], CuInS 2 nanoplates [17,18], ZnIn 2 S 4 microspheres [19] and AgInS 2 nanorods [20] have been prepared by various methods. Especially, they show high photocatalytic activity for pollutant degradation or for H 2 evolution from water reduction.…”

Outside‐In Recrystallization of ZnS–Cu1.8S Hollow Spheres with Interdispersed Lattices for Enhanced Visible Light Solar Hydrogen Generation

“…The binding energies of Zn 2p 1/2 , Zn 2p 3/2 are allocated at 1044.7 and 1021.5 eV while that of Cu 2p 3/2 and Cu 2p 1/2 are observed at 932.4 and 952.3 eV, respectively. [33] The absence of satellite line confirmed that Cu + is the only copper species existing in the as-synthesized HS-ZS-CS sample. This is in agreement with the TEM and XRD structural characterizations in which copper is in the form of monovalence.…”