The conventional preparation of SnNb₂O₆ invariably involves complex and laborious steps, which unavoidably introduces defect into the host lattice and also increases the reaction period and costs, resulting in undesired recombination of photo-generated electron–hole pairs. For the first time in this work, we manage to synthesize single-crystalline two-dimensional (2D) SnNb₂O₆ nanosheets with ultrathin structure through a facile one-step hydrothermal method. Comparative studies were explored to analyze the structure and phase evolution during the preparation course. The synthesized 2D structure demonstrated a narrower band gap of 2.09 eV and specific surface area of 76.1 m² g⁻¹, which exhibited significantly extended visible-light-responsive range and larger surface area by contrast with the state-of-the-art reports, resulting in excellent visible-light-driven photoactivity towards H₂ production and water purification as well. Additionally, further enhanced photocatalytic performance was achieved by the incorporation of Pt as co-catalyst to indirectly indicate the advantage of the SnNb₂O₆ nanosheets in this method over other reported counterparts. It was found that, a very small amount of Pt loaded on the surface of SnNb₂O₆ nanosheets would contribute to remarkably higher activity than pure SnNb₂O₆ nanosheets and exhibit superior stability as well. Moreover, a deep insight into the underlying photocatalytic mechanism was proposed. This work sheds light on a new facile way to fabricate high-performance photocatalytic materials and provided new opportunities for solar-energy conversion.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6528/abc3e3Liu_2021_Nanotechnology_32_065705.pdf