Synthesis of high-quality I–III–VI semiconductor supported Au particles and their catalytic performance

Abstract

High-quality I–III–VI semiconductor supported Au particles have first been successfully synthesized via a simple seeded growth approach. Compared with the catalytic performance of the two obtained hybrids of Au–AgInS2 and –CuInS2, it is found that sample Au–AgInS2 shows higher photocatalytic activity towards the reduction of 4-nitrophenol by NaBH4. However, sample Au–CuInS2 exhibited a much better performance on oxidation of 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine di-hydrochloride in the presence of H2O2, indicating their strong composition-related catalytic properties.