Study of photocatalytic activity of ZnS nanoparticles for removal of methylene blue: Effect of Ag dopant

In recent years, photocatalytic degradation has received much attention as an alternative method in the removal of environmental pollutants in the aqueous phase. In the current study, zinc sulfide as pure and doped with Ag were prepared for photodecolorization of methylene blue (MB) under UVA light irradiation. The syntheses of nanopowders were carried out using a simple chemical co-precipitation method. The structural, optical, morphological, and chemical compositions of the synthesized samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, UV-Vis, and FESEM analyses. The X-ray diffraction results revealed the hexagonal crystal structure of the nanoparticles. In the FTIR analysis, O–H, C–H, C=O, C–N, and Zn–S, stretching vibrations were found in the prepared samples. The optical band gap ranging from ۵.۲ eV to ۵.۴ eV was obtained by the UV-Vis measurement. The photocatalytic activity of the ZnS and ZnS: Ag nanoparticles in the degradation of the methylene blue (MB) dyes under UVA light was evaluated. The photocatalytic activity results indicated that the Ag doping enhanced the photocatalytic activity of ZnS. Thus, ZnS: Ag could be effectively used as a photocatalyst for the degradation of environmental pollutant methylene blue dye.

کلیدواژه ها:

Zinc sulfide ، Ag dopant ، Co-precipitation ، Nanoparticles ، Photocatalytic activity