Synthesis of Three-Dimensional β-InS Nanoflowers with a Tunable Surface Area for Boosted Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline and Rhodamine B.

Three-dimensional (3D) β-InS nanoflowers with a tunable surface area were successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. Their growth mechanism, observed through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), revealed the formation of InS flowers by the assembly of 2D InS nanosheets. This unique 3D structure enhances optical absorption and tailors the band gap, as evidenced by UV-vis DRS and photoluminescence (PL) analyses. XRD and Raman spectroscopy confirm the β-phase of the synthesized InS nanoflowers. The tunable surface area of the samples was confirmed by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. As a result, the prepared material exhibits an enhanced degradation efficiency to tetracycline (TC) and Rhodamine B (RhB), reaching up to 85.4 and 99.4% after 240 and 60 min under irradiation by low-power household LED (60 W), respectively, which has not been reported yet. Radical trapping experiments indicated that O was the primary reactive species responsible for the photocatalytic degradation of RhB and TC molecules in the β-InS system. The excellent photocatalytic properties and high structural stability of β-InS make it a promising material for degrading antibiotics and persistent textile pollutants.