Investigation on photocatalytic activity of ZnS/NiFe2O4 NCs under sunlight irradiation via a novel two-step synthesis approach

Abstract This work focuses on the facile two-step approach of Zinc Sulphide (ZnS)/ Nickel Ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanocomposites (NCs) were developed for the first time. The PXRD pattern reveals that the survival of spinel cubic and cubic symmetry phases were obtained by synthesized ZnS/NiFe2O4 NCs. The optical band-gap values of synthesized NCs were achieved to be 1.50 eV and 1.89 eV respectively for NiFe2O4 and ZnS/NiFe2O4 NCs which were established by UV-Visible absorption spectrum via Tauc’s relation. From the BET analysis, the surface area of the prepared ZnS/NiFe2O4 NCs was achieved to be 44.72 m2/g. The as-prepared ZnS/NiFe2O4 NCs exhibit superior photocatalytic performance than that of pure NiFe2O4 for degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) dyes under direct sunlight illumination. The photocatalytic efficiency of ZnS/NiFe2O4 NCs was estimated to be 93% and 72 % for MB and RhB within 120 min illumination. Thus the result shows, developed nanocomposites demonstrated a proficient photodegradation process with a high reaction kinetic rate due to their separation as well as the transfer of photogenerated charge carriers.