Photocatalytic degradation of RhB and TNT and photocatalytic water splitting with CZTS microparticles

Abstract

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) is a main candidate material for solar energy conversion through both photovoltaics and photocatalysis based on environmentally friendly elements and with a direct band gap of 1.5 eV. We report the synthesis of quasi Cu2ZnSnS4 microparticles with unprecedented narrow size distributions. The structural, morphological and core level analysis has been carried out by XRD, SEM and XPS techniques. These microparticles have shown excellent photocatalytic activity toward degradation of Rhodamine B dye (RhB) and TNT under visible light. The extent of mineralization has been analyzed by COD and TOC values. Photocatalytic water splitting for H2 generation has also been reported.