One-step Synthesis of ZnIn₂S₄/Ti₃C₂T_{x< /sub> Hybrids for Efficient Photodegradation of Organic Pollutants}

ZnIn2S4 has drawn increasing attention in the field of photocatalysis due to its low price, high stability, and ease of availability, as well as its visible light response and ordered nanostructure characteristics. However, the low surface area and limited photogenerated-exciton separation efficiency of pure ZnIn2S4 hinder the further improvement of photocatalytic activity. To address these issues, Ti3C2Tx is in-situ integrated with the ZnIn2S4 through a one-step hydrothermal method, that can simultaneously regulate the catalytic active sites, energy level alignment, and charge transfer channel to enhance the photocatalytic performance. The Ti3C2Tx parts are directionally distributed on surface of those flower-like ZnIn2S4 microspheres for improving the photogenerated carrier generation/separation and reducing the carrier's recombination during the photocatalytic process. Additionally, Ti3C2Tx promotes the flower-like microspheres of ZnIn2S4 to "bloom" and consequently increase the surface-active sites. As a result, the photocatalytic degradation rate of organic pollutants is increased by two times after surface functionalization of ZnIn2S4. This work provides a new structural design method to construct more efficient catalysts for organic pollutants and brings the understanding of the specific relationship between structure and photocatalytic performance.