Synthesis and characterization of a CuS–WO3 composite photocatalyst for enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

J. Theerthagiri; R. A. Senthil; A. Malathi; A. Selvi; J. Madhavan; Muthupandian Ashokkumar

doi:10.1039/C5RA06512G

Synthesis and characterization of a CuS–WO₃ composite photocatalyst for enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

J. Theerthagiri,^a R. A. Senthil,^a A. Malathi,^a A. Selvi,^b J. Madhavan*^a and Muthupandian Ashokkumar^c

* Corresponding authors

^a Solar Energy Lab, Department of Chemistry, Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore-632 115, India
E-mail: jagan.madhavan@gmail.com
Fax: +91 416 2274748
Tel: +91 416 2274747

^b Bioremediation Lab, SBST, VIT University, Vellore-632 014, India

^c School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville campus, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Abstract

WO₃ nanorods and flower-like CuS were synthesized by a hydrothermal process. The visible light driven CuS–WO₃ photocatalyst was prepared by adding different weight ratios (10–40%) of CuS on WO₃ by a wet impregnation method. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance (DRS) spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance of synthesized photocatalysts was evaluated for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The 10% CuS–WO₃ photocatalyst showed higher photocatalytic degradation activity than others which could be due to the increased absorption of light in the visible region and also a lower recombination of charge carriers. Further, the photoelectrochemical measurements carried out for 10% CuS–WO₃ revealed the faster migration of photo-induced charge-carriers. A possible reaction mechanism for the enhancement of photocatalytic activity of CuS–WO₃ has been proposed.

Article information

https://doi.org/10.1039/C5RA06512G

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Paper

Submitted

11 Apr 2015

Accepted

09 Jun 2015

First published

09 Jun 2015

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RSC Adv., 2015,5, 52718-52725

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Synthesis and characterization of a CuS–WO₃ composite photocatalyst for enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

J. Theerthagiri, R. A. Senthil, A. Malathi, A. Selvi, J. Madhavan and M. Ashokkumar, RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 52718 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA06512G

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Synthesis and characterization of a CuS–WO₃ composite photocatalyst for enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

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Synthesis and characterization of a CuS–WO₃ composite photocatalyst for enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

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