Hybrid photo-catalyst of Sb2S3 NRs wrapped with rGO by C–S bonding: Ultra-high photo-catalysis effect under visible light

Abstract This very paper focuses on the design and synthesis of chalcogenide photo-catalyst. Hence Sb2S3 nano-rods and rGO/Sb2S3 nano-rods hybrid have been synthesized by hydrothermal procedures. Characterizations, such as the morphology, the crystalline structure, the photo-catalysis capability, and some photo-electrical conversion properties, have been carried out. It is found that GX-Sb2S3 catalyst (X = 1, 3, 5) had much higher photo-catalysis effect than pure Sb2S3 under visible light irritation. The experiments and calculation make it clear that photo-generated electrons in Sb2S3 nano-rods would immigrate to rGO and further be trapped by the surface defects in rGO. Interestingly, the photo-corrosion was drastically inhibited in rGO wrapped Sb2S3 hybrid catalyst viewed from the 5 cycles of photo-catalysis experiments. Meanwhile, the aqueous effect on the growth of Sb2S3 nano-rods was particularly studied, which revealed that a bit of water was vital if one wanted to grow Sb2S3 nano-rods and to simultaneously wrap the grown Sb2S3 nano-rods.