Improving the multifunctional attributes and photocatalytic dye degradation of MB and RhB dye – A comparative scrutiny

Abstract

The nanoscale synthesis of Silver Sulfide (Ag2S) material was carried out using a facile co-precipitation technique. The synthesized nano-powders structural, morphological, optical, and photocatalytic attributes were studied. The structural qualities were analyzed using XRD analysis which reveals the crystalline nature of the monoclinic crystal structure. The average crystallite size of Ag2S nanoparticles was 52 nm – 41.7 nm. The UV–Vis displays the cut-off wavelength in 1192–1223 nm for normal and sintered Ag2S nanostructures, and the observed band gap is 1.01 eV – 0.47 eV. Owing to the excellent catalytic nature of Ag2S nanoparticles, they are used for the photocatalytic dye degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and Methylene Blue (MB) in the form of aqueous solutions in the presence of illumination of UV light. Rapid dye degradation was observed with the maximum degradation rate of 99.7% in 150 mins for RhB and 93.4% in 130 mins for MB dye over the catalyst of Ag2S.