Synthesis of ZnO/ZnS core/shell microsphere and its photocatalytic activity for methylene blue and eosin dyes degradation

Abstract

In this paper, ZnO/ZnS photocatalyst was synthesized by a relatively simple method. The synthesized ZnO/ZnS microspheres have a nice core-shell structure. The structure of ZnO/ZnS composites was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The diameter of the microsphere was about 800 nm, and the shell structure was 200 nm. The structure and composition of the composites were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The absorption intensity of ZnO and ZnO/ZnS in UV-Vis region was compared by UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. ZnO/ZnS has absorption peaks in visible region, while ZnO does not. The photocatalytic experiment of ZnO/ZnS photocatalyst proves that the photocatalyst has good degradation effect on methylene blue (MB) and eosin under visible light irradiation. This is a great improvement in the treatment of various organic pollutants in water.