Template free aqueous solution synthesized microporous In2S3 for water purification

Abstract

Abstract: Template-assisted growth of microporous materials has been widely researched for applications in the fields of nano-medicine, catalysis, energy conversion, and storage. Here we demonstrate a template-free method of growth of microporous In2S3 at room temperature using the minimal number of reagents and water as the solvent. X-ray diffraction and HRTEM analysis show that the synthesized In2S3 has a cubic structure with preferential growth along the (222) plane. Nitrogen physisorption analysis shows that the synthesized In2S3 power has a bimodal pore size distribution with small pores of size ~0.8 nm and larger pores of size ~2.5 nm. The SEM analysis evidenced concave surfaces for the grown In2S3 crystallite. An optical bandgap energy of 2.11 eV was obtained from the UV-VIS absorption spectrum. The grown In2S3 exhibits the photo-catalytic ability to degrade organic pollutants Rhodamine B and Sulforhodamine B dye molecules in water by ~92% and ~94% respectively, under direct sunlight. The reusability of the grown In2S3 for the degradation of these organic pollutants is demonstrated and its efficiency was found to degrade exponentially with recycling. The results demonstrate that the grown In2S3 is an efficient agent for water purification under direct sunlight. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.)