Facile Construction of 2D/2D ZnIn(2)S(4)-Based Bifunctional Photocatalysts for H(2) Production and Simultaneous Degradation of Rhodamine B and Tetracycline

A two-dimensional/two-dimensional (2D/2D) TiO(2)/ZnIn(2)S(4) photocatalyst was reasonably proposed and constructed by a two-step oil bath-hydrothermal method. TiO(2) nanosheets uniformly grown on the surface of ZnIn(2)S(4) nanosheets and a synergetic effect between the TiO(2) and ZnIn(2)S(4) could highly contribute to improving the specific surface area and hydrophilicity of ZnIn(2)S(4) as well as accelerating the separation and transfer of photon-generated e(−)-h(+) pairs, and thus enhancing the visible-light photocatalytic degradation and H(2) evolution performance of ZnIn(2)S(4). Rhodamine B (RhB) and tetracycline (TC) were simultaneously selected as the target pollutants for degradation in the work. The optimum photocatalytic RhB and TC degradation properties of TiO(2)/ZnIn(2)S(4)-10 wt% were almost 3.11- and 8.61-fold higher than that of pure ZnIn(2)S(4), separately, while the highest photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate was also observed in the presence of TiO(2)/ZnIn(2)S(4)-10wt% and 4.28-fold higher than that of ZnIn(2)S(4). Moreover, the possible photocatalytic mechanisms for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic degradation and H(2) evolution were investigated and proposed in detail. Our research results open an easy pathway for developing efficient bifunctional photocatalysts.