PbS-NiO nanocomposite material with enhanced magnetic, photocatalytic and antifungal properties

Abstract

PbS, NiO and PbS-NiO nanocomposites were synthesized by a cost effective chemical route and characterized by techniques like TG-DTA, XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR and PL. XRD studies reveal the presence of diffraction peaks related to PbS and NiO in the composite. The visible light photocatalytic tests showed that the PbS-NiO nanocomposite had better photocatalytic activities for the photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) compared to that of pure PbS and NiO nanopowders. Within 210 min of reaction time, nearly 89% decolorization efficiency of MO was achieved by the PbS-NiO photocatalyst, which is higher than that of pure PbS and NiO. The high photocatalytic efficiency of the composite was due to the extended photoresponse range and efficient separation of the electron-hole pairs in the PbS-NiO heterojunction. In addition, the composite also possess excellent antifungal efficiency against A. niger fungus strain. Enhanced magnetic properties were observed for the composite.