A simplistic approach for the synthesis of CuS-CdS heterostructure: A Novel photo catalyst for oxidative dye degradation

Abstract Direct synthesis of CuS-CdS based mesoporous composite materials and their photocatalytic activity are delineated. In this study, a series of CuS micro flowers (mf) decorated with varying amounts of CdS nanoparticles (NP) have been synthesized successfully in a controlled manner. Relatively easy synthesis of material along with its surfactant-free clean surfaced heterojunction accentuates the reliability of the protocol described here. Full characterization of these semiconducting materials was accomplished with a series of analytical techniques, which include powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tunnelling electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis, IR, BET and lifetime studies. Upon varying the concentration of precursor of Cd in the reactions, the resulting materials exhibited a well-demarcated change in morphologies ranging from undifferentiated mass to well-differentiated flower-like architectures. The thoroughly characterized composite was accessed finally for its potential photocatalytic activity for the degradation of organic dyes. The results showed 96.0% degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) over 10 minutes and 94.7% degradation of methylene blue (MB) over 9 minutes. This observed rate of degradation was much higher compared to that observed in the case of pure CuS (62.0% of RhB and 50.2% of MB).