A facile chemical conversion synthesis of Sb ₂S ₃ nanotubes and the visible light-driven photocatalytic activities

Abstract

We report a simple chemical conversion and cation exchange technique to realize the synthesis of Sb ₂S ₃ nanotubes at a low temperature of 90°C. The successful chemical conversion from ZnS nanotubes to Sb ₂S ₃ ones benefits from the large difference in solubility between ZnS and Sb ₂S ₃. The as-grown Sb ₂S ₃ nanotubes have been transformed from a weak crystallization to a polycrystalline structure via successive annealing. In addition to the detailed structural, morphological, and optical investigation of the yielded Sb ₂S ₃ nanotubes before and after annealing, we have shown high photocatalytic activities of Sb ₂S ₃ nanotubes for methyl orange degradation under visible light irradiation. This approach offers an effective control of the composition and structure of Sb ₂S ₃ nanomaterials, facilitates the production at a relatively low reaction temperature without the need of organics, templates, or crystal seeds, and can be extended to the synthesis of hollow structures with various compositions and shapes for unique properties.