Effect of M2+ (M = Zn and Cu) Dopants on the Electronic Structure and Photocatalytic Activity of In(OH) y S z Solid Solution

• Published in: Journal of physical chemistry. C 2008-10, Vol.112 (41), p.16046-16051
• Main Authors: Li, Zhaohui, Dong, Hui, Zhang, Yongfan, Dong, Tiaotiao, Wang, Xuxu, Li, Junqian, Fu, Xianzhi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: C: Surfaces, Interfaces, Catalysis
• ISSN: 1932-7447; 1932-7455
• DOI: 10.1021/jp805475a

Nanocrystalline Zn-doped and Cu-doped In(OH) y S z solid solutions were synthesized from In(NO3)3, thiourea, and M(NO3)2 (M = Zn and Cu) in an aqueous solution of ethylenediamine via a facile hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV−vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Although both Zn-doped and Cu-doped In(OH) y S z solid solutions show visible-light-driven photocatalytic activities in the decomposition of acetone and typical dye like RhB, their photocatalytic performance is quite different. Cu-doped In(OH) y S z solid solution can only decompose acetone and RhB to intermediates, but cannot mineralize them. On the contrary, Zn-doped In(OH) y S z solid solution can mineralize acetone and RhB to CO2 and its photocatalytic activity is a little enhanced compared to that of the undoped In(OH) y S z solid solution. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations on Zn-doped and Cu-doped In(OH) y S z solid solutions reveal that the introduction of M2+ (M = Zn and Cu) into In(OH) y S z solid solution influences the electronic structure. The different photocatalytic performance observed on Zn-doped and Cu-doped In(OH) y S z solid solutions can be well explained by their different electronic structures.