Fabrication of TiO2 embedded ZnIn2S4 nanosheets for efficient Cr(VI) reduction

[Display omitted] •TiO2/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposites were constructed by a facile one-pot synthesis.•The unique embedded structure of TiO2/ZnIn2S4 was constructed.•TiO2/ZnIn2S4 displays an excellent photocatalytic activity of Cr(VI) reduction.•The survival time and migration rate of photo-generated electrons were enhanced. Various TiO2/ZnIn2S4 composites with an embedded structure have been developed by a facile one-pot synthesis. The activities of all samples were estimated by photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) under visible light (λ>420 nm). Results showed that the electrostatic interaction and self-assembly effect make TiO2 nanoparticles inserting into ZnIn2S4 nanosheets. The resulting TiO2/ZnIn2S4 composites show much better photocatalytic performance for Cr(VI) reduction than that of pristine TiO2 and ZnIn2S4. Especially, the photocatalytic efficiency of T/ZIS-0.3 (TiO2 loading of 30 wt%) is approximate 3 times as high as that of pristine ZnIn2S4 (TiO2 exhibited almost no activity). The embedded structure of TiO2/ZnIn2S4 offers apparent increase of specific surface area, visible-light absorption and electrons transfer efficiency, which are responsible for the boosted photocatalytic activity. This work would inspire researchers to construct high-efficiency semiconductor composites for photocatalytic environmental governance.