Liquid-phase controlled synthesis of Sb-derived heterostructures

Antimony (Sb) based compounds such as Sb2O3 and Sb2S3 have shown promises in electronics, catalysis and sensing devices. Their functional performances can be further improved by integration with other materials to from composites or heterostructures, which however, usually require tedious procedures with poor morphology control. Herein, we realized direct hydrothermal synthesis of Sb2O3/SnO2 heterostructures and Sb2S3/SnS2 heterostructures by using liquid-phase exfoliated two-dimensional (2D) Sb nanoflakes as precursors. Compared to directly using SbCl3 salt as the reactant, using the Sb nanoflakes enabled the slow release of Sb3+ ions which benefited the better controlled nucleation and growth of Sb2O3 (or Sb2S3) acting as growth templates for the further deposition of SnO2 (or SnS2). As a demonstration, the as-prepared Sb2S3/SnS2 heterostructures were employed for photocatalytic methylene blue (MB) degradation, which exhibited a faster degradation rate compared to Sb2S3 or SnS2 alone. Our work offers an alternative strategy with elemental 2D materials as precursors for the preparation of heterostructured functional materials.