Abstract
Stibnite (Sb2S3) semiconducting material was successfully synthesized by a rapid and facile microwave route using antimony chloride (SbCl3) and sodiumthiosulfate (Na2S2O3) dissolved in propylene glycol (PG) containing different hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) masses. The phase identification, morphology, and elemental composition of products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field- emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results revealed the orthorhombic phase of Sb2S3 single crystal-forming sheaf-like nanostructure, and a possible formation mechanism was proposed and discussed. Its direct band gap calculated from UV-visible absorption is 1.60 eV. In this research, the photocatalytic activities of Sb2S3 nanostructure were investigated through the degradation of methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The as-obtained 0.30 g HEC-added solution (0.3 HEC-Sb2S3) photocatalyst exhibited better photocatalytic activity than the other products, which degraded 91% of MO within 300 min and 90% of MB within 240 min under the Xe-lamp irradiation. The first-order plot was fitted with this experiment which the rate constant (k) of 0.3 HEC-Sb2S3 for MO and MB degradation are 0.0085 and 0.0098 min−1, respectively. Therefore, the new experience with a novel and simple synthetic procedure of Sb2S3 photocatalyst that exhibits the characteristics of a highly effective photocatalyst under visible light irradiation was discovered.
Highlights
The photocatalytic activity of semiconductor nanomaterial has drawn considerable interest worldwide because they have significant potential for the degradation of dye pollutants in wastewater and elimination of environmental contaminations
Phase and Morphology Analysis The crystalline degree and phase purity of Sb2S3 crystal were shown in Fig. 1 which have been characterized by an X-ray diffractometer (XRD)
When 0.10 g hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) was added to the mixed solution, it caused each nanorod to split more to be a bundle of nanorods
Summary
The photocatalytic activity of semiconductor nanomaterial has drawn considerable interest worldwide because they have significant potential for the degradation of dye pollutants in wastewater and elimination of environmental contaminations. A serious problem with toxic synthetic dyes was arisen from discharging the wastes of textile, paper, and plastic industries It is Typically, a variety of procedures have been used for removal of synthetic dyes from water, including membrane separation, microbiological decomposition, adsorption, and photocatalysis [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. A primary focus on TiO2 has been applied to environmental problems, due to it has traditionally formed as photocatalyst under irradiation for pollutant degradation by generating strong oxidants such as HO radicals that can rapidly
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