Mass Production and Reusable Photocatalytic Activity of ZnS Microspheres

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) microspheres are prepared by hydrothermal process at 180 degrees C. The investigation on the morphology, structure and crystallinity of the products in the growing process are carried out by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The results show that the product with the average diameter of 2 mu m is microsphere and the structure is uniform. The photocatalytic properties of ZnS microspheres are investigated via methylene blue (MB) as a model organic compound under UV light irradiation, about 90% of MB is decomposed after 140 minutes when the amount of ZnS microspheres is 2.5 g/L. The stability of ZnS microspheres is discussed at last. The results indicate that there is no observable change in the recycled performance of ZnS microspheres even after eight recycles.