(Al, Cu) Co-doped ZnS nanoparticles: structural, chemical, optical, and photocatalytic properties

The pristine and (Al, Cu) co-doped ZnS nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated by a chemical refluxing approach at 100 °C for the first time. High resolution transmission electron microscopy images disclosed that the fabricated NPs were visually spheroid shaped. The X-ray diffraction and micro Raman spectroscopy results stipulated that (Al, Cu) co-doped ZnS NPs were effectively procured with zincblende structure without the existence of foreign phases. A reduction in the optical band gap was obtained in the ZnS NPs after (Al, Cu) co-doping. The photoluminescence (PL) of pristine ZnS was totally quenched through (Al, Cu) co-doping. Malachite green was degraded by using pristine and (Al, Cu) co-doped ZnS NPs under the simulated solar light illumination. Higher degradation efficiency was obtained through (Al, Cu) co-doped catalyst compared with the pristine ZnS catalyst. The (Al, Cu) co-doped ZnS NPs displayed the hydrogen production rate of 4994.7 m mol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ in 300 min under simulated solar light irradiation. Hence, (Al, Cu) co-doping is a novel and promising path to enrich the photocatalytic degradation and the hydrogen production of the pristine ZnS NPs.