Enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of sol-gel derived ZnS-rGO binary nanocomposite

A facile chemical route of synthesis of ZnS-rGO binary nanocomposites is reported here. The efficacy of such nanocomposites as a photocatalyst in degrading the common pollutant dye such as Methylene blue (MB), has been thoroughly investigated and the underlying mechanism is also presented. The standard characterization methods were applied to understand the structure, bonding, morphology, optical and elemental compositions. The results indicated that the ZnS nanoparticles were well dispersed into the rGO nanosheets which due to their 2D sheet structure, served as a favourable template for growth and control of morphology. Increase in rGO amount showed a direct impact on particle size confirmed by XRD and Raman both. The synthesized nanocomposites were utilized as photocatalyst for the degradation of MB dyes under UV irradiation. The optimal combination of ZnS and rGO (in the ratio of 3:2) exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity. A higher rate constant of 7.01x10-3 min-1, and an approximate degradation efficiency of 75% were obtained after 90 min of degradation. The improvement in photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the enhancement in charge separation, suppressed recombination of electron-hole (e--h+) carriers, and a possible longer electron lifetime due to the presence of higher amount of rGO. Here, rGO assisted the suppression of charge recombination process in ZnS-rGO and ignited hydroxyl radicals and super-oxide ions which further accelerated the degradation rate of dye. Based on the nature of the dye and its concentration, a significant amount of rGO was needed to maximize the photocatalytic efficiency of ZnS-rGO binary nanocomposites. In addition, the dark current variation with applied bias was explored and it depicted a reduction in dark current with optimized amount of rGO in nanocomposite. The nanocomposites have a strong potential to be utilized in water purification and nano-detectors.