Morphological studies and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by zinc sulfide nanoparticles

Abstract

We report the preparation, morphological and photocatalytic studies of zinc sulfide nanoparticles from zinc(II) dithiocarbamate precursors. Powder X-ray diffraction patterns were index to the wurtzite crystalline phase of zinc sulfide while transmission electron microscopy micrographs revealed spherically shaped particles with sizes in the range 2.8 to 5.2 nm. The ZnS nanoparticles were used as photocatalysts for the degradation of methylene blue with degradation efficiency of 71.41% for ZnS1 and 85.95% for ZnS2 nanoparticles at pH 9.43. The effect of catalyst concentration, pH, radical scavengers, and hole (h+) scavengers on the photodegradation of methylene blue dye were evaluated.