In situ synthesis of reduced graphene oxide/SnIn4S8 nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic performance for pollutant degradation

A type of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/SnIn4S8 (SIS) nanocomposites was successfully fabricated by a facile and efficient microwave-assisted method. Their morphology, structure, composition, and optical performance were investigated by different analytical techniques, respectively. The results indicated that rGO had an important effect on the structure of photocatalysts. As the content of rGO increases, the unchin-like microsphere structure of rGO/SIS evolved gradually into aggregated nanosheet structure. The photocatalytic degradation experiments were carried out under visible light irradiation. The results demonstrated rGO/SIS-2 nanocomposites exhibited higher photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of RhodamineB than that of SIS, rGO/SIS-1 as well as rGO/SIS-3. Meanwhile, the mineralization efficiency of Rhodamine B (RhB) can reach up to 73.8% within 30 min. Interestingly, rGO/SIS-2 nanocomposites exhibited excellent recycle stability with 96% removal efficiency of RhB after three cycles. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of rGO/SIS-2 nanocomposites should be attributed to the strong interaction of rGO and SIS, the decrease of band gap energy, the enhanced visible light absorption, and excellent electrons’ mobility of rGO, thereby promoting charge separation. Finally, the mechanism of rGO/SIS nanocomposites for the degradation of RhB has been also proposed. This work provides a facile and efficient pathway to prepare SIS-based nanocomposites with enhanced catalytic efficiency by combining the advantages of microwave-assisted heating and incorporating carbon-based nanomaterials for the degradation of organic pollutants in visible light irradiation.