Copper sulfide and their hybrids with carbon nanotubes for photocatalysis and antibacterial studies

Abstract

In this paper, we report the copper sulfide and their hybrids with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for environmental remediation applications. The copper sulfide was prepared via hydrothermal route and the ultrasonication approach was used to synthesize their hybrids with CNTs. The structural, morphological and functional group analysis of prepared samples and their hybrids were investigated with the help of various advanced techniques such as (i) powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), (ii) scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and (iii) Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy respectively. XRD confirmed the hexagonal crystal structure of prepared materials. SEM analysis revealed that the prepared materials have relatively spherical shape with cluster formation. The CNTs matrix can be seen in the SEM images of hybrid material. The electrical conductivity of the prepared hybrid sample was 2.23 × 103 Sm− 1 which was higher than electrical conductivity of bare copper sulfide material (1.64 × 10− 4 Sm− 1). The photocatalytic experiment was carried out using a readily available organic dye, methylene blue. CuS/CNTs hybrids exhibited significantly higher activity as compared to bare copper sulfide. This increase in degradation efficiency was due to the association of CNTs with the CuS. The CNTs increased the electrical conductivity and inhibited the recombination of electron-hole pairs of prepared material. The CuS/CNTs also showed good antibacterial activity on the gram (−) and gram (+) bacterial strains. The photocatalytic and antibacterial activity results exhibited that the prepared CuS/CNTs hybrids have more capability to degrade the dyes from industrial waste and to kill the dangerous bacteria.