Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Properties of In₂S₃, ZnIn₂S₄, and CdIn₂S₄ Nanocrystals

Abstract

A one-pot method has been employed to synthesize the nanocrystals of In 2 S 3 , ZnIn 2 S 4 , and CdIn 2 S 4 . The single-source precursor [In(bipy)(SC{O}Ph) 3 ] has been used for making In 2 S 3 nanocrystals. On the other hand, [Zn(SC{O}Ph) 2 ]•2H 2 O or [Cd(SC{O}Ph) 2 ]•2H 2 O was reacted with [In(bipy)(SC{O}Ph) 3 ] and decomposed to make the corresponding ternary metal indium sulfides. The nanocrystals have been characterized by Xray powder diffraction (XRPD), transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopies (SEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Parameters such as temperature, molar ratio of precursor to surfactant, duration of reaction time, and surfactant type were varied to investigate their influence on the morphology and size of nanomaterial. It was found that In 2 S 3 exhibits different morphologies under different reaction conditions whereas the effect of these reactions conditions on the morphological evolution is not very prominent for ZnIn 2 S 4 and CdIn 2 S 4 . All the synthesized metal ternary In 2 S 3 showed efficient photocatalytic degradation of dye under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. We observed that the degradation of dye is much faster in chloroform than in the aqueous solution as the dispersion of nanoparticles is more homogeneous in chloroform solution. A comparison of the photocatalytic activity of In 2 S 3 with ZnIn 2 S 4 and CdIn 2 S 4 having similar morphology and size shows that the photocatalytic activity of the ternary chalcogenides of In 2 S 3 is considerably enhanced.

Solvothermal synthesis of CdIn2S4 photocatalyst for selective photosynthesis of organic aromatic compounds under visible light

“…With the development of photocatalytic technology, current research work mainly focuses on the degradation of organic pollutants 2–4 , hydrogen production in water 5 , reduction of carbon dioxide 6 , selective oxidation of different alcohols 7 , and other kinds of organic transformation reactions 8–10 . Among them, selective oxidation of alcohols to corresponding aldehydes without further oxidation to carboxylic acids and carbon dioxide has become a research hotspot recently 11, 12 .…”

Recent Progress on Engineering Highly Efficient Porous Semiconductor Photocatalysts Derived from Metal–Organic Frameworks

“…Among them, pure ZnS and CdS were subsequently obtained by the combustion of ZnS@C and CdS@C (to remove carbon) and utilized as moderately active photocatalysts for degradation of MB under visible-light illumination. Batabyal and coworkers developed a one-pot method, i.e., thermolysis of single- or dual-source coordination polymer precursors in the presence of different surfactants, to synthesize nanocrystals of In 2 S 3 , ZnIn 2 S 4 , and CdIn 2 S 4 [133]. The synthesized In 2 S 3 nanocrystals showed efficient photocatalytic degradation of MB under UV light irradiation, and the photocatalytic activities of the ternary chalcogenides of In 2 S 3 were considerably enhanced.…”

Important Phase Control of Indium Sulfide Nanomaterials by Choice of Indium(III) Xanthate Precursor and Thermolysis Temperature

“…An example of organo‐In complexed with a mixed alkydithiocarbamate ligand, [Et 2 In(S 2 CNMe n Bu)], gave β ‐In 2 S 3 thin films using the standard MOCVD method , . Alkyl thiolates, thiobenzoates, thiocarbazates, thiobiurets, thiophosphinates and thiocarboxylates, are also examples of SSPs which have been exploited in the fabrication of In x S y nanoparticles and thin films displaying different phases and diverse morphological features.…”