Structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of Ce-doped SnS2 nanoflakes

• Ce-doped SnS2 nanoflakes were synthesised by solid state reaction at low temperature.
• SEM and TEM observations revealed the formation of nanoflakes.
• The chemical bonding of Sn–S is confirmed by FT-Raman.
• The energy bandgap value of Ce-doped SnS2 is decreased when compared with that of un-doped.
• The doping with Ce is an effective way to enhance the photocatalytic activity of SnS2.

Novel Ce-doped SnS2 nanoflakes were synthesised by solid state reaction at low temperature and solvent-free. Structural, morphological and optical properties were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR, FT-Raman, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL) and UV–Vis spectra. XRD analysis confirms the formation of pure single hexagonal SnS2 phase with a preferred orientation along (011) direction and that the lattice volume varies depending on Ce doping level. Both Raman and FTIR analyses confirm the formation of single SnS2 phase. The estimated value of the optical bandgap energy (Eg), as obtained from UV–Vis analysis, varies with Ce doping concentration, associated with size effect, Ce3+ ions occupying Sn4+ sites as well the creation of vacancies within the crystal lattice. SEM and TEM observations reveal the formation of nanoflakes. It was found that Ce-doped SnS2 nanoflakes exhibit higher photocatalytic activity for degradation of reactive red 120 dye than that of un-doped SnS2. Due to their low toxicity, Ce-doped SnS2 nanoflakes showed great potential as photocatalysts.

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