Photocatalytic performance of novel zinc ferrite/copper sulfide composites for the degradation of Rhodamine B dye from wastewater using visible spectrum

Novel synthesis of composites of zinc ferrite ZnFe2O4 and copper sulfide CuS (ZnFe@CuS) was done by hydrothermal strategy and their photocatalytic performance was studied by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye. Relevant techniques of characterization have been utilized to characterize the prepared samples. Structural investigation revealed formation of composite and increment in crystallite size from 24 nm to 64 nm. Morphological study revealed the formation of cubic shaped to random shaped particles with increase in composite percentage. Similarly, emission at 412 nm with slight shift and decrease in peak intensity in PL spectra was also observed. At last, photocatalytic study revealed highest degradation efficiency (93%) for ZnFe@CuS 25% sample followed by first order pseudo reaction rate with reaction constant k 0.04060 min-1. It was observed that ZnFe@CuS 25% is environment friendly, photostable, and anti-photo corrosion with excellent reusability. These results suggest that composite ZnFe@CuS can be employed as a photocatalyst without producing secondary pollution that will further have positive impact on overall environment.