Natural assembly of a ternary Ag-SnS-TiO 2 photocatalyst and its photocatalytic performance under simulated sunlight.

Natural assembly method was utilized to prepare a novel ternary Ag-SnS-TiO 2 nanocomposite, in which TiO 2 nanobelts were used as templates. The co-loading of Ag and SnS nanoparticles endows TiO 2 nanobelts with enhanced photocatalytic capability, resulting from the broadened light absorption spectra and decreased band gaps. Comparing with raw TiO 2 nanobelts and commercial Degussa P25, an improvement in photodegradation of simulated organic pollutants was successfully demonstrated due to the decreasing recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Our work presents a new strategy for the preparation of ternary TiO 2 -based photocatalysts in the practical application of wastewater treatment.