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Solvothermal Synthesis of p-type Cu2ZnSnS4-Based Nanocrystals and Photocatalytic Properties for Degradation of Methylene Blue

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Abstract

The quaternary copper-based chalcogenide Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS), have recently arisen as a low-cost and environment-friendly material for photovoltaics and photocatalysis. In this paper, p-type kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanocrystals were synthesized by solvothermal method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV–Vis spectroscopy were used to investigate the structural, morphological and photocatalytic properties of kesterite CZTS nanocrystals. The kesterite CZTS nanocrystals powder were used as a photocatalyst to investigate the degradation rate of methylene blue (MB) under visible-light irradiation. The results show the 62% degradation of methylene blue (MB) within 240 min under visible-light irradiation. Furthermore, Zn was partially doped with Fe, Mn, Co, and Ni. CZTS-based nanocrystals and results reveal that Cu2(Zn0.8Me0.2)SnS4 (Me = Fe, Mn, Co, Ni) could degrade 92, 74, 84 and 89% of MB within 240 min, respectively, indicating promising potential as effective visible-light photocatalysts.

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Acknowledgements

This research is financial supported by National Science Foundation of China (61176062), Project of Jiangsu Industry-Academia-Research (BY2015057-19), Funding of Jiangsu Innovation Program for Graduate Education (CXLX12_0146), the research fund of Jiangsu Province Cultivation base for State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Science and Technology (SKLPSTKF201506) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, Nanjing, 210016, People’s Republic of China

    Hao Guan, Honglie Shen & Adil Raza

  2. School of Materials Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, 9 Yinbing Street, Yancheng, 224051, People’s Republic of China

    Hao Guan

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  1. Hao Guan
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  2. Honglie Shen
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  3. Adil Raza
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Correspondence to Honglie Shen.

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Guan, H., Shen, H. & Raza, A. Solvothermal Synthesis of p-type Cu2ZnSnS4-Based Nanocrystals and Photocatalytic Properties for Degradation of Methylene Blue. Catal Lett 147, 1844–1850 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-017-2094-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-017-2094-5

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