Recently, research on photocatalysis has become indispensable in tackling the key global environmental issues caused by rapid urbanization and industrialization. In the present work, novel Sn-doped ZnS@CuO composites were designed for visible light driven wastewater remediation and explored the optimum concentration of CuO with enhanced photocatalytic efficiency. The study aimed to tailor the optical response of the photocatalysts to utilize the visible spectrum with enhanced performance against organic pollutants. For the development of Sn-doped ZnS@CuO composites, CuO flowers were prepared via a simple hydrothermal technique, whereas a chemical co-precipitation procedure was used to create Sn-doped ZnS nanoparticles (NPs). The X-ray diffraction confirmed the monoclinic phase of CuO, whilst ZnS crystallized in a wurtzite structure. The diffraction patterns of the Sn-doped ZnS@CuO composites comprised of Sn-doped ZnS and CuO co-existing phases. The crystallite sizes were determined to be in the range between 8-28 nm. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy further confirmed the elemental information of the photocatalysts. The FESEM images demonstrated a flower-like morphology for CuO, while Sn-doped ZnS revealed agglomeration of NPs. Furthermore, the optical response of Sn-doped ZnS@CuO composites was significantly improved towards the visible region with the addition of CuO. Particularly, the Sn-doped ZnS@CuO composites with a 75 % CuO ratio (marked as W1) revealed an outstanding methylene blue (MB) removal efficiency of 96 %. The current work suggests that the novel Sn-doped ZnS@CuO composites can be utilized for the degradation of toxic pollutants from the aquatic environment.
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