Synthesis and shape-dependent visible-light-driven photocatalytic activities of Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 nanostructures

Rose- and sphere-shaped Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanostructures were synthesised via a facile solvothermal process. Shape-dependent visible-light-driven photocatalytic activities of the as-synthesised rose- and sphere-shaped CZTS nanostructures were evaluated by degradation of methylene blue (MB). The results indicate that the rose-shaped CZTS nanostructures exhibit an enhanced photocatalytic activity with 91.2% degradation of MB after 10 h reaction under visible-light irradiation, which was higher than that (58.7%) of the prepared sphere-shaped CZTS nanostructures. High adsorption ability of MB resulted from the higher surface area of the rose-shaped CZTS nanostructures, which is responsible for the enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity.