Synthesis and characterization of carbon-doped ZnSn(OH)6 with enhanced photoactivity by hydrothermal method

Abstract

Well-dispersed carbon-doped ZnSn(OH)6 submicrocubes were successfully synthesized through a facile and economical hydrothermal method at 433K, which used green chemical glucose (C6H12O6) as the carbon-doping source. Photocatalytic activity of the as-synthesized C-doped ZnSn(OH)6 was evaluated by studying photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation(≥ 400 nm). The results show that carbon-doped ZnSn(OH)6 photocatalysts exhibited higher photocatalytic performance as compared to pure ZnSn(OH)6. 1.0 wt% C-doped ZnSn(OH)6 photocatalyst exhibited obviously higher photocatalytic activity that of pure ZnSn(OH)6 or other C-ZnSn(OH)6 catalysts under the same condition. The enhanced photocatalytic degradation of MB could be attributed to the doping of carbon and the possible mechanism for high photocatalytic activity of C-doped ZnSn(OH)6 was discussed. C-doped ZnSn(OH)6 can significantly enhance absorption activity in UV light (λ ≥ 400 nm) region in comparision to un-doped ZnSn(OH)6. The results show the effects of the amount of doped carbon on photocatalytic efficiency of ZnSn(OH)6. Obviously, C-ZnSn(OH)6 with 1.0 wt% of carbon for MB exhibited the highest catalytic activities and the most efficient photocatalytic properties for the reduction of MB. The possible mechanism for high photocatalytic activity of C-doped ZnSn(OH)6 was discussed in this paper.