Dopant-driven recombination delay and ROS enhancement in nanoporous Cd_1-xCu_xS heterogeneous photocatalyst for the...

Developing an efficient heterogeneous photocatalyst for environmental remediation and treatment strategies using visible light harvesting processes is promising but challenging. Herein, Cd_1-xCu_xS materials have been synthesized and characterized by precise analytical tools. Cd_1-xCu_xS materials exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for direct Red 23 (DR-23) dye degradation in visible light irradiation. The operational parameters, like dopant concentration, photocatalyst dose, pH, and initial concentration of dye were investigated during the process. The photocatalytic degradation process follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. As compared to other tested materials, 5% Cu doped CdS material revealed superior photocatalytic performance for the degradation of DR-23 (k = 13.96 × 10^-3 min^-1). Transient absorption spectroscopy, EIS, PL, and transient photocurrent indicated that adding copper to the CdS matrix improved the separation of photo-generated charge carriers by lowering the recombination rate. Spin-trapping experiments recognized the photodegradation primarily based on secondary redox products, i.e., hydroxyl and superoxide radicals. According to by Mott-Schottky curves, photocatalytic mechanism and photo-generated charge carrier density were elucidated regarding dopant-induced valence and conduction bands shifting. Thermodynamic probability of radical formation in line with the altered redox potentials by Cu doping has been discussed in the mechanism. The identification of intermediates by mass spectrometry study also showed a plausible breakdown mechanism for DR-23. Moreover, samples treated with nanophotocatalyst displayed excellent results when tested for water quality metrics such as DO, TDS, BOD, and COD. Developed nanophotocatalyst shows high recyclability with superior heterogeneous nature. 5% Cu-doped CdS also exhibit strong photocatalytic activity for the degradation of colourless pollutant bisphenol A (BPA) under visible light (k = 8.45 × 10^-3 min^-1). The results of this study offer exciting opportunities to alter semiconductors' electronic band structures for visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity for wastewater treatment.