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Nearly monodisperse YVO(4) architectures with persimmon-like, cube-like and nanoparticle shapes have been synthesised on a large scale by means of a complexing-agent-assisted solution route. The shape and size of these as-prepared architectures can be tuned effectively by controlling the reaction conditions, such as reaction time, the molar ratio of complexing agent/Y(3+) and different complexing agents. As a typical morphology, the growth process of monodisperse nanopersimmons has been examined. To extend this method, other LnVO(4) (Ln=Ce, Gd, Dy, Er) complexes with well-defined shape and dimensionality can also be achieved by adjusting different rare earth precursors. Further studies reveal that the morphology of the as-synthesised lanthanide orthovanadate is determined mainly by the interaction between rare earth ion and the complexing agent. Ultraviolet (UV) absorption and photoluminescence spectra show that the optical properties of YVO(4) nanopersimmons are relevant to their size and shape. This work sheds some light on the design of well-defined complex nanostructures, and explores the potential applications of the as-synthesised architectures.

A series of (CuIn) x Zn 2(1Àx) S 2 solid solutions has been successfully synthesized by a solvothermal approach, and the obtained solid solutions, with a size of about 10 nm, exhibit significant absorption in the visible light region and their band gap can be correspondingly tuned from 2.59 eV to 1.64 eV with an increase of the x value from 0.05 to 0.5, implying that they can be used as visible-light driven photocatalysts. Furthermore, the obtained (CuIn) x Zn 2(1Àx) S 2 solid solutions display highly efficient photocatalytic activities for H 2 evolution from aqueous solutions containing sacrificial reagents (SO 3 2À and S 2À ) under visible light (l > 420 nm) even without noble metal co-catalysts, e.g. (CuIn) 0.2 Zn 1.6 S 2 , with a band gap of 2.10 eV, exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity of 0.984 mmol g À1 h À1 even without a Pt co-catalyst. Further studies reveal that the photocatalytic H 2 evolution of solid solutions depends on their composition as well as the photophysical properties, such as the ability to absorb visible light and the generation and separation of photo-induced electrons and holes.

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