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

Abstract

WO3 nanorods and flower-like CuS were synthesized by hydrothermal process. The visible light driven CuS-WO3 photocatalyst was prepared by adding different weight ratios (10-40%) of CuS on WO3 by 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. 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 by 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.

High-Throughput Preparation of Metal Oxide Nanocrystals by Cathodic Corrosion and Their Use as Active Photocatalysts

“…We hypothesize that cathodic corrosion could also be used to incorporate dopants for increasing the visible light response of the resulting nanoparticles. Certain dopants have already been shown in the literature to red shift the band edge of WO 3 , [36][37][38] and could bolster the visible activity of H 2 WO 4 particles.…”

Application of Z–Scheme CdSWO3 Nanocomposite for Photodegradation of Ethylparaben under Irradiation with Visible Light: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

“…4.5 eV), is the calculated band gap from the DRS and is the conduction band edge. The electronegativity value of CdS and WO 3 were 5.18 and 6.59, respectively ,. The VB and CB potentials of CdS were 1.57 and –0.21 eV, respectively, while CB and VB potentials for WO 3 were 3.32 and 0.86 eV, respectively.…”

“…The electronegativity value of CdS and WO 3 were 5.18 and 6.59, respectively. [27,56] The VB and CB potentials of CdS were 1.57 and -0.21 eV, respectively, while CB and VB potentials for WO 3 were 3.32 and 0.86 eV, respectively. Finally, a schematic illustration of the charge carrier migration and separation in the CdS-WO 3 nanocomposite was proposed ( Figure 15).…”

Hollow Structured Metal Sulfides for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

“…Between the two, sulfur‐rich CuS (also known as covellite mineral) has become an important p‐type semiconductor material due to its narrow bandgap (∼2.2 eV) and potential application value as a co‐catalyst. In addition, CuS is a well‐known candidate material for visible‐light photocatalysis since it owns an additional absorption band in the near‐infrared region (NIR), which allows it to exhibit low reflectance in the visible range and a rather high reflectance in the NIR . However, the improvement and development of this semiconductor material towards practical application is limited due to the fast recombination of the photogenerated electron‐hole pairs of CuS.…”