Facile one-pot solvothermal method to synthesize sheet-on-sheet reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites with superior photocatalytic performance.

Highly reductive RGO (reduced graphene oxide)/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites with a sheet-on-sheet morphology have been prepared via a facile one-pot solvothermal method in a mixture of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and ethylene glycol (EG) as solvent. A reduction of GO (graphene oxide) to RGO and the formation of ZnIn2S4 nanosheets on highly reductive RGO has been simultaneously achieved. The effect of the solvents on the morphology of final products has been investigated and the formation mechanism was proposed. The as-prepared RGO/ZnIn2S4 nanoscomposites were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), N2-adsorption BET surface area, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiations over the as-prepared RGO/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites has been investigated. The as-prepared RGO/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites show enhanced photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiations and an optimum photocatalytic activity is observed over 1.0 wt % RGO incorporated ZnIn2S4 nanocomposite. The superior photocatalytic performance observed over RGO/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites can be ascribed to the existence of highly reductive RGO which has strong interactions with ZnIn2S4 nanosheets. The existence of the strong interaction between ZnIn2S4 nanosheets and RGO in the nancomposites facilitates the electron transfer from ZnIn2S4 to RGO, with the latter serving as a good electron acceptor, mediator as well as the co-catalyst for hydrogen evolution. This study can provide some guidance for us in the developing of RGO-incorporated nanocomposite photocatalysts.