Ca(II) doped β-In₂S₃ hierarchical structures for photocatalytic hydrogen generation and organic dye degradation under visible light irradiation

Hierarchical structures assembled by two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets could inherit the characteristics of nanosheets and acquire additional advantages from the unique secondary architectures, which would have important influences on the photocatalytic properties of semiconductor nanomaterials. In this work, we successfully synthesized Ca(II) doped β-In₂S₃ hierarchical structures stacked by thin nanosheets by a simple solution chemical process. The effects of reaction temperature and Ca²⁺ concentration on the size and morphology of the products were systematically investigated. The photocatalytic applications of the β-In₂S₃ hierarchical structures were evaluated for hydrogen production and degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). The β-In₂S₃ hierarchical structures showed promising activity towards photocatalytic hydrogen production (145.0 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹) and RhB solution (1 × 10⁻⁵ M) was completely degraded within 100 min under visible light irradiation.