Abstract
SnO2 nanofibers were fabricated by calcination of the electrospun PVP/SnCl4 composite nanofibers. For the first time, SnS nanofibers and SnSe nanofibers were successfully synthesized by double-crucible sulfurization and selenidation methods via inheriting the morphology of SnO2 nanofibers used as precursors, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows SnS nanofibers and SnSe nanofibers are respectively pure orthorhombic phase with space group of Pbnm and Cmcm. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation indicates that the diameters of SnS nanofibers and SnSe nanofibers are respectively 140.54±12.80 nm and 96.52±14.17 nm under the 95 % confidence level. The photocatalytic activities of samples were studied by using rhodamine B (Rh B) as degradation agent. When SnS or SnSe nanofibers are employed as the photocatalysts, the respective degradation rates of Rh B solution under the ultraviolet light irradiation after 200 min irradiation are 92.55 % and 92.86 %. The photocatalytic mechanism and formation process of SnS and SnSe nanofibers are also provided. More importantly, this preparation technique is of universal significance to prepare other metal chalcogenides nanofibers.
Highlights
In the past few decades, metal chalcogenides have attracted considerable research interest due to their outstanding semiconducting and optical properties and potential applications in future[1]
SnS or SnSe nanofibers were synthesized by a double-crucible technique we newly proposed via inheriting the morphology of SnO2 nanofibers
We can safely conclude that the double-crucible technique we proposed here can remain the morphology of the SnO2 precursor nanofibers
Summary
In the past few decades, metal chalcogenides have attracted considerable research interest due to their outstanding semiconducting and optical properties and potential applications in future[1]. Among these materials, SnS and SnSe are increasingly important owing to their special semiconducting properties[2]. SnS is a p-type semiconductor with layered orthorhombic crystal structure. The orthorhombic herzenbergite modification of SnS consists of double layers perpendicular to c axis in which Sn and S atoms are tightly bound. The narrow band gap, non-toxic nature and the interesting structure of SnS make it a potential candidate for solar absorber in thin film solar cells and semiconductor sensors[3]. Over the past several years, the synthesis of SnS and SnSe nanomaterials has been extensively explored, and considerable efforts have been made to control the size and shape of SnS and SnSe nanomaterials[5,6]
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