Hydrothermally derived Cr-doped SnS2 layered nanoplates: investigation of their controlled structural, morphological, optical, magnetic, photo response and photocatalytic activities.

A facile method has been employed to synthesize pristine and Cr-doped SnS₂ (Cr: SnS₂) nanoplates (Sn_1-xCr_xS₂, here x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) and Cr: SnS₂ nanoplates (NPs) were successfully synthesized via hydrothermal method. The nanoplates' structure was hexagonal, with a preference for orientation along the (001) plane; there was no evidence of additional undesirable phases. FTIR and EDX were used to observe the existence of functional groups in the samples where Sn-S bonds were present in each of the produced pristine and Cr: SnS₂ nanoplates. XPS measurements demonstrated the existence of Sn, S, and Cr. FESEM revealed that the morphological properties of the nanoplates included several hexagonal grains. Magnetic characterizations showed that with increasing doping concentration of Cr, SnS₂ nanoplates become superparamagnetic from ferromagnetic. The band gap values for the pristine and Cr: SnS₂ nanoplates calculated from the absorbance spectra decreased from 2.53 to 2.08 eV with an increase in doping concentration. The photoluminescence spectra of the pristine SnS₂ and Cr: SnS₂ nanoplates exhibit two strong emission peaks at around 562 and 666 nm for an excitation wavelength of 420 nm. The Cr: SnS₂ nanoplates have demonstrated the resistive behavior of the sample. The Cr: SnS₂ nanoplates have shown good photocatalytic activity towards the decolorization of rhodamine B under visible irradiation.Article highlights: Hydrothermally synthesized pristine SnS₂ and Cr: SnS₂ nanoplates exhibit hexagonal crystal structures and the hexagonal shape of layered nanoplates is apparent in both cases. The ferromagnetic order is introduced by Cr doping in SnS₂ which increases the formation of dilute magnetic semiconductors that can therefore be used in spintronic devices. The Sn_0.6Cr_0.4S₂ photocatalyst shows the highest photocatalytic activity and a degradation efficiency of 71%, which is 3.4 times higher than the pure SnS₂ catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]