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

Nanocrystalline In(OH) y S z solid solutions were synthesized from In(NO 3 ) 3 and thiourea in an aqueous solution of ethylenediamine via a facile hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N 2 -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) y S z 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) y S z showed visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity in the decomposition of gaseous acetone. A possible sub-band-transition mechanism of the photocatalysis on In(OH) y S z solid solutions under visible light irradiation was also proposed in this work.