Evaluation of the photocatalytic and persulfate activation properties of GO-CuSbS2 composite

Abstract

The photocatalytic and persulfate activities of graphene oxide composited with copper antimony sulfide (CuSbS2) nanoparticles have been explored in this study. Pure phase CuSbS2 obtained by the co-thermolysis of metal dithiocarbamate complexes was composited with graphene oxide (GO) and explored as catalysts in a photocatalytic and persulfate activation processes. The charge carrier separation efficiency study, used in screening the different ratio of CuSbS2-GO composite, showed the optimum level of CuSbS2 in the composite to be at 10 wt.% of the catalyst. The photocatalytic and persulfate activation activities of the composites for tetracycline degradation reached 94% and 74% efficiency respectively after 60 min, confirming the potential of the catalyst for both processes. The reaction rate constant for the photocatalytic process was 5.0 0 × 10−2 min−1, while the persulfate activation process recorded a rate constant of 1.6 × 10−2min−1. Compositing of CuSbS2 with GO resulted in enhancement of the photocatalytic activity by 59 and 23 times compared to CuSbS2 and GO alone. Confirming a high synergistic effect between the materials. The radical scavenging experiment showed that photogenerated holes (h+) were the most significant radical species in the photocatalytic process, while in the persulfate activation process, electron transfer between GO-CAS(10%) and PS was the most significant process in the degradation process. Thus, in this study, the enhancement of the catalytic activity of CuSbS2 through its incorporation within the matrices of graphene oxide has been established.