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Preparation by Solvothermal Synthesis, Growth Mechanism, and Photocatalytic Performance of CuS Nanopowders
Author(s) -
Zhang YuQiao,
Zhang BoPing,
Ge ZhenHua,
Zhu LiFeng,
Li Yan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
european journal of inorganic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1099-0682
pISSN - 1434-1948
DOI - 10.1002/ejic.201400098
Subject(s) - rhodamine b , photocatalysis , nanoparticle , copper , sulfur , solvothermal synthesis , chemical engineering , nanostructure , nanotechnology , chemistry , rhodamine , copper sulfide , materials science , catalysis , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry , fluorescence , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Various CuS nanostructures, including nanoflowers, doughnut‐shaped nanospheres, dense nanospheres, and mixtures of nanoneedles, nanoparticles, and nanoplates, were synthesized from different copper and sulfur sources by a solvothermal method. The formation mechanisms along with photocatalytic properties for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible‐light irradiation were investigated in this study. The experimental results indicate that when the sulfur source is fixed at CS(NH 2 ) 2 in the solvothermal reaction, spherical nanoflowers, doughnut‐shaped nanospheres, and dense nanospheres could be synthesized by using CuCl 2 , Cu(NO 3 ) 2 , and CuSO 4 as the copper source, respectively. Furthermore, atypical nanoflowers and a mixture of nanoneedles, nanoparticles, and nanoplates could be obtained when the sulfur source was switched to Na 2 S 2 O 3 and Na 2 S with a fixed copper source of CuCl 2 . The energy gaps calculated from the light absorption spectrum were 1.61, 1.93, 2.01, 1.70, and 1.82 eV for the spherical nanoflowers, doughnut‐shaped nanospheres, dense nanospheres, atypical nanoflowers, and the mixture of nanoneedles, nanoparticles, and nanoplates respectively. Among these five samples, three powders composed of spherical nanoflowers, atypical nanoflowers as well as a mixture of nanoneedles, nanoparticles, and nanoplates exhibited excellent photocatalytic properties and can degrade rhodamine B completely in an hour.