Carbon-doped SnS nanostructure as a high-efficiency solar fuel catalyst under visible light.

Photocatalytic formation of hydrocarbons using solar energy via artificial photosynthesis is a highly desirable renewable-energy source for replacing conventional fossil fuels. Using an L-cysteine-based hydrothermal process, here we synthesize a carbon-doped SnS (SnS-C) metal dichalcogenide nanostructure, which exhibits a highly active and selective photocatalytic conversion of CO to hydrocarbons under visible-light. The interstitial carbon doping induced microstrain in the SnS lattice, resulting in different photophysical properties as compared with undoped SnS. This SnS-C photocatalyst significantly enhances the CO reduction activity under visible light, attaining a photochemical quantum efficiency of above 0.7%. The SnS-C photocatalyst represents an important contribution towards high quantum efficiency artificial photosynthesis based on gas phase photocatalytic CO reduction under visible light, where the in situ carbon-doped SnS nanostructure improves the stability and the light harvesting and charge separation efficiency, and significantly enhances the photocatalytic activity.