Surfactant free fabrication of copper sulphide (CuS-Cu2S) nanoparticles from single source precursor for photocatalytic applications

A simple, ethylene glycol chemical reduction method was employed to synthesize CuS-Cu2S nanoparticles from single source copper thiourea complex for removal of persistent organic dyes. Fabricated CuS-Cu2S nanoparticles were characterized by powder XRD (PXRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Photocatalytic behaviour of CuS-Cu2S nanoparticles was evaluated under direct sunlight for degradation of methylene blue, malachite green, methyl orange, methyl violet and rhodamine B with the help of UV-vis spectroscopy.