Tin sulfide nanoribbons as high performance photoelectrochemical cells, flexible photodetectors and visible-light-driven photocatalysts

Tin sulfide (SnS) nanoribbons with the thickness of ca. 10-20 nm and length up to several microns were synthesized via a facile polyol refluxing process. The photoconductive properties of the SnS nanoribbons were tested by assembling the samples into photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells, exhibiting excellent photosensitivity with the features of rapid response and recover time, and stable on/off cycle performance to the stimulated sunlight. The photocurrent density can reach to around 87 μA cm^-2, which is the highest one among all reported SnS photoelectrodes. Flexible photodetectors were then fabricated on PET substrates, showing fast response to visible light with different intensities. Photocatalytic properties of the as-synthesized SnS nanoribbons were also studied by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). Almost all of MB was decomposed within 2 h, indicating the SnS nanoribbons are good candidates for high performance photocatalysts.