Effect of nickel substitution on structural, optical, magnetic properties and photocatalytic activity of ZnS nanoparticles

In the present work, we propose a cost effective, less complicated and an effective way of synthesizing Zn1−xNixS nanoparticle using wet chemical precipitation method. And the material is used for removal of dye decolorization process, which overcomes the constraints caused in the conventional techniques namely chlorination, adsorption, ozonization. The structural analysis shows primary phase cubic zinc blende Zn1−xNixS and rhombohedral α-NiS secondary phase with the average grain size of 20 nm. The electron microscopic analysis clearly depicts the nanophase formation. The strong blue shift in the UV–visible absorption region (410 nm) confirms the nano dimensional state of Zn1−xNixS nano particles. FT-IR analysis shows the presence of functional groups adsorbed on the surface of the nanoparticles. Magnetic measurement by VSM shows that the prepared nanoparticles possess super paramagnetic and room temperature weak ferromagnetic properties. Visible light driven photocatalytic decolorization of methylene blue is observed for Zn0.90Ni0.10S nanoparticles with a degradation of 94% during 150 min of irradiation at 150 ppm of dye concentration.