Abstract
Wastewater produced by the textile industry contains various dyes and organic compounds that directly or indirectly affect surface water or groundwater pollution. Visible-light-driven semiconductor photocatalysis is the leading pathway for the degradation of environmental pollutants. Herein we report the bottom-up hydrothermal growth of 2D tin disulfide nanostructures (SnS2 NSs) for the efficient photodegradation of organic pollutants such as Rhodamine B (Rh.B) and Methyl Violet (M.V) in an aqueous medium under visible light (λ > 400 nm) irradiation. The as-synthesized SnS2 NSs were characterized by various structural, morphological, and optical techniques such as XRD, RAMAN, TEM, UV–Vis, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, etc. Furthermore, the low bandgap (∼1.6 eV), the high surface area (56 m2/g), and the anionic nature of SnS2 NSs attribute to it as an efficient photocatalyst for photocatalytic applications. The photocatalytic properties of SnS2 NSs showed good degradation efficiency of 94 and 99.6% for Rh. B and M.V, respectively, in 25 min. The kinetic rate constant of these dyes was estimated by using the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model. Here we also performed the recyclability test of the photocatalyst and discussed the plausible mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. The XPS spectra of SnS2 NSs were studied before and after the photodegradation of Rh.B and M.V, indicating the high stability of the photocatalyst. Moreover, in vitro cytotoxicity was also evaluated against human cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa cells) with different concentrations (0–1,000 μg/ml) of as-synthesized SnS2 NSs. This intended work provides a possible treatment for the degradation of organic pollutants under visible light to balance the aquatic ecosystems.
Highlights
The efficient disposal of environmental pollutants is one of the major problems, of which water pollution is the prime concern
In the present investigation, we report the synthesis of SnS2 NSs using a facile one-pot bottom-up ecofriendly hydrothermal method without a subsequent surface treatment
Tin (IV) chloride pentahydrate (SnCl4·5H2O) and methyl violet were purchased from Molychem, India
Summary
The efficient disposal of environmental pollutants is one of the major problems, of which water pollution is the prime concern. Various 2D SnS2-based nanostructures have been reported for photocatalytic application (Li et al, 2012b; Umar et al, 2013; Balu et al, 2018) All these methods have low degradation efficiency and were covered with inorganic materials or any organic surfactant molecules which restrict any interaction on their material surface and corresponds to a reduced catalytic activity. It has been observed that the degradation efficiency of organic dyes such as Rh.B and M.V is ∼94 and ∼99.6%, respectively, using SnS2 NSs as a photocatalyst under visible light in 25 min. We estimated the in vitro cytotoxicity against human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa cells) with various concentrations of as-synthesized SnS2 NSs. Tin (IV) chloride pentahydrate (SnCl4·5H2O) and methyl violet were purchased from Molychem, India. The detailed photodegradation study of M.V and Rh.B is discussed in the present work
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