A facile synthesis of Bi₂O₃/SnS₂ and Ag@Bi₂O₃/SnS₂ nanostructures and their enhanced photodegradation application toward RhB

In this study, the binary Bi₂O₃/SnS₂ (2 & 4 wt%) and ternary Ag (2, 4 & 6 wt%)@Bi₂O₃/SnS₂ (2 wt%) nanostructures were prepared by the facile precipitation and deposition method. The synthesized materials were characterized by using several analytical methods such as X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, ultraviolet visible diffuse reflectance specctroscopy, photoluminescence, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The organic pollutant Rhodamine B (RhB) was used to determine the photocatalytic efficiency of prepared nanocomposites. Bi₂O₃/SnS₂ and Ag@Bi₂O₃/SnS₂ nanocomposites showed the maximum photocatalytic activity in acidic medium. As photocatalyst, ternary nanocomposite Ag (4 wt%)@Bi₂O₃/SnS₂ (2 wt%) exhibited admirable performance (99.85% degradation in 40 min) in comparison to binary Bi₂O₃/SnS₂ (2 wt%) nanocomposite for the degradation of RhB (98.95% degradation in 40 min). The enhanced activity was ascribed to the fabrication of Z-type heterojunctions which are beneficial for the effective separation of photoinduced charged species and decrease the recombination rate of charge carrier species. Also, the Ag (4 wt%) @ Bi₂O₃/SnS₂ (2 wt%) photocatalyst showed magnificent stability after five cycles, in which the efficiency dropped by 5.31% only. The role of scavengers involved during the degradation reaction was conducted, and from this experimentation, the superoxide anion radicals and holes are found responsible dominant active species for the RhB degradation. This research work highlights the enhanced photocatalytic abilities and performance ofAg@Bi₂O₃/SnS₂ for the elimination of organic pollutants such as RhB dye and it would exhibit the potential application in wastewater treatment.