In-situ self-assembled flower-like ZnIn2S4/CdIn2S4 composites with enhanced interfacial charge transfer and photocatalytic degradation of atrazine

In heterostructure photocatalysts, interface charge transfer is a crucial step in the photocatalytic process, so it is crucial to construct photocatalysts with high interface charge transfer efficiency. Here we report an in-situ self-assembled flower-like ZnIn2S4/CdIn2S4 (ZCIS) composites with excellent catalytic performance for atrazine (ATZ) degradation. The ZCIS-4 composite could degrade 99.82% of ATZ within 40 min, which showed 1.42 and 1.91 times better than blank ZnIn2S4 and CdIn2S4, respectively. The excellent catalytic performance is attributed to the built-in electric field in the in-situ self-assembled composite photocatalyst, which accelerates the rapid transfer of interfacial charges and the rapid separation of photogenerated electron hole pairs. The toxicity assessment shown that some intermediates exhibited decreased toxicities; however, the toxicities were still significant. Active radical capture experiments and electron spin resonance characterization demonstrated that h+, O2− were the main active free radicals. Differential charge density simulation calculations verified that interface photogenerated electrons were transported from CIS to the ZIS surface.