Methylene Blue Dye Degradation by Visible Light Active SnS/BiOCl Photocatalyst Under Sunlight Exposure

ABSTRACT SnS/BiOCl photocatalyst was successfully prepared by hydrothermal route of synthesis and used for the degradation of methylene blue dye. The best performing photocatalyst (10 wt.% SnS/BiOCl) degrades ∼99% of methylene blue from the aqueous medium, under natural sunlight exposure. The energy band plot indicated that the optimized nanocomposite was a typical Z‐Scheme heterojunction, where photoinduced charge carriers are efficiently separated. Various physicochemical techniques such as P‐XRD, UV–vis DRS, and FESEM were utilized for the characterization of the as‐prepared SnS/BiOCl photocatalyst. Additionally, radical scavenging experiments demonstrated that holes and superoxide radicals are dominant active species, whereas hydroxyl radicals are of secondary importance in this system. A plausible photocatalytic mechanism of the SnS/BiOCl composite was also discussed.