Hydrothermal synthesis of Cu₂CoSnS₄ nanoparticles: characterization and their applications of electrochemical, antibacterial and photocatalytic performances

A hydrothermal technique was used to successfully synthesize tetragonal Cu2CoSnS4 (CCTS) nanoparticles and investigate the effect of various thiourea concentrations on structural, morphological and optical properties. XRD analysis revealed the formation of tetragonal CCTS nanoparticles and the average crystallite size (nm) varied from 26 to 40 nm. The Raman studies confirmed the vibrational modes of the CCTS nanoparticles. The FE-SEM images revealed that the thiourea concentrations induced morphological changes in the CCTS nanoparticles, which exhibited the nanosheets changing into spherical structures. TEM images indicated that the CCTS sample had a spherical structure and the SAED pattern demonstrated a polycrystalline nature. The valance states of metallic species, such as Cu+ and Co2+ were further confirmed by XPS. The optical band gap (1.53 eV) was calculated from UV-Visible data and the obtained bandgap value from the literature. The electrochemical measurements of the CCTS TU-10 electrode exhibited pseudocapacitive behavior with a notable specific capacitance of 198 Fg(-1) at a scan rate of 10 mV/S along with favorable electrocatalytic activity. In the photocatalytic application, when compared to MB dye (78 %), the CCTS catalyst was found to have a higher degradation efficiency toward CV dye (84 %). For antibacterial studies, the Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria exhibited the maximum zone of inhibition at 20 mm for 100 mu g/ml. Finally, the experimental results suggested that the synthesized CCTS nanoparticles had better electrochemical, photocatalytic, and antibacterial properties.