In-situ synthesis of floating ZnIn2S4/cellulose foam for facile photocatalysis
Yichen Zhou, Ying Zhang, Lu Zhang, Jianhao Qiu, Jianfeng Yao
Abstract
The delicate design of photocatalyst monoliths is of great significance for the practical applications of artificial photocatalysis . An in-situ synthesis to prepare ZnIn 2 S 4 /cellulose foam was developed. Cellulose is dispersed in a highly concentrated ZnCl 2 aqueous solution to prepare Zn 2+ /cellulose foam. Zn 2+ ions are pre-anchored by hydrogen bonds on cellulose and become in-situ sites for synthesizing ultra-thin ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheets . This synthesis method makes ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheets and cellulose tightly bound and prevents ZnIn 2 S 4 nanosheets from stacking in multiple layers. As a proof of concept, the prepared ZnIn 2 S 4 /cellulose foam exhibits a favorable performance for photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) under visible light. By adjusting the concentration of zinc ions , the optimal ZnIn 2 S 4 /cellulose foam is capable to completely reduce Cr(VI) in 2 h and the photocatalytic activities show no decrease after 4 cycles. This work could inspire people to build floating cellulose-based photocatalysts via in-situ synthesis.