Photodecoloration of methyl orange solution assisted by ZrS3 powders

Abstract

Zirconium trisulfide ZrS3 is a representative of transition metal polysulfides containing sulfur as S-1 in polysulfide, usually disulfide S22- groups. Semiconductive zirconium trisulfide which absorbs visible light near UV edge was considered as a possible photocatalyst. We experimentally studied photodecoloration of methyl orange in presence of ZrS3. It was shown for the first time that crystalline ZrS3 strongly deepens photodegradation reaction, and in one case the methylene orange conversion reached almost 100%. The rates of degradation curves were associated with the ZrS3 samples morphology; the best result revealed for microribbons ZrS3 synthesized at 650°C.