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Cobalt-doped ZnS-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite as an advanced photocatalytic material

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Abstract

The removal of toxic organic pollutants from wastewater by graphene-based photocatalysts has dominated recent scientific research. As a result numerous nanomaterials have been studied and used for water remediation. ZnS has been widely studied due to its versatile application in photocatalysis. This study presents the synthesis of Co-doped graphene–ZnS nanocomposite by co-precipitation method. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction , Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis. UV/Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was employed to estimate band gap energies. Laboratory experiments with indigo carmine (IC) dye was chosen as a model for organic pollutants and was used to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of Co-doped ZnS–rGO nanocomposite under visible light. The Co-doped ZnS–rGO showed significant visible light induced photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of IC. Highest photocatalytic activity was observed for the 0.3 % Co-doped ZnS–rGO sample (k = 3.1 × 10−2 min−1).

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, the National Research Fund of South Africa, and Nanotechnology and Applications Centre, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, India. The authors also wish to thank Mr. A. Sacko and Mr. P. Komane in the Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg for their technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, PO Box 17011, Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa

    Eric Selorm Agorku, Messai Adenew Mamo & Ajay Kumar Mishra

  2. Nanotechnology for Water Sustainability Research Unit, College of Engineering, Science and Technology, University of South Africa, Florida Campus, Roodepoort, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Bhekie Brilliance Mamba

  3. Nanotechnology Application Centre, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, 211002, India

    Avinash Chandra Pandey

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  1. Eric Selorm Agorku
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  2. Messai Adenew Mamo
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Correspondence to Ajay Kumar Mishra.

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Agorku, E.S., Mamo, M.A., Mamba, B.B. et al. Cobalt-doped ZnS-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite as an advanced photocatalytic material. J Porous Mater 22, 47–56 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-014-9871-y

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