Preparation, characterization, and photocatalytic activity of ZnS/MoS2 nanocomposite supported by Fe3O4 nanoparticles

In this study, ZnS/MoS2 nanocomposites were synthesized by hydrothermal and ZnS/MoS2/Fe3O4 nanocomposite by chemical co-precipitation methods. ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized initially and then loaded with MoS2 nanostructure. After that ZnS/MoS2 product was mixed by Fe3O4 nanoparticles and the final product that obtained, was ZnS/MoS2/Fe3O4 nanocomposite. XRD, FTIR, TEM, BET and Raman Analyses were used to identify and characterize the samples. Photoluminescence spectroscopy was employed to investigate the optical properties of both composites. The infrared Fourier transform spectra showed a well developed Zn-S, Fe-O and Mo-S bonds. X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the presence of cubic structure for ZnS and Fe3O4 and hexagonal structure for MoS2. Electron microscopy images well confirmed the formation of nanostructures. Based on PL spectroscopy, the intensity of the luminescence peak decreased, which could be due to a decreases in the electron-holes recombination percentage of the triplet sample compared to the binary sample. Photocatalytic activity of ZnS/MoS2/Fe3O4 on degradation of methyl orange (MO) and acid brown (AB) dye degradation was investigated using UV radiation. The sample showed good photocatalytic activity and can be easily recycled due to its magnetic properties, which can be used as photocatalyst in other reactions.