Studies on In(OH)ySzSolid Solutions: Syntheses, Characterizations, Electronic Structure, and Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Activities

Nanocrystalline In(OH)ySz solid solutions were synthesized from In(NO3)3 and thiourea in an aqueous solution of ethylenediamine via a facile hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2-sorption (BET surface area), UV−vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The position of the valence band for In(OH)ySz was established by ultraviolet photoelectron spectra (UPS). Electronic band calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) revealed that upon being doped, several doping states derived from S 3p orbitals appeared in the band gap of undoped In(OH)3. In(OH)ySz showed visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity in the decomposition of gaseous acetone. A possible sub-band-transition mechanism of the photocatalysis on In(OH)ySz solid solutions under visible light irradiation was also proposed in this work.