Metal ions doped and polythiophene coated nanophotocatalysts: Synthesis and spectroscopic characterization for H2 production and dye degradation

Transition metal ions doped cadmium sulphide nanomaterials (Cu/CdS, Co/CdS, Zn/CdS), polythiophene (PTh) nanoparticles (NPs) and CdS/PTh nanocomposites were prepared by aqueous chemical method. The synthesized materials were subjected to structural and optical characterizations to be utilized as photocatalysts. The efficiency of the above photocatalysts was determined by employing it in dye degradation and hydrogen evolution studies. The results show that Zn/CdS nanomaterials have the highest efficiency of degrading methylene blue (MB) upto an extent of 94.14% and the hydrogen production rate of 205.16 μ mol h−1. The overall photocatalytic efficiency of Zn/CdS nanomaterials was found to be 6.32%. So, this specific nanomaterial was cast into thin films by solution casting method using PVA as binder material. Two different films were designed to test our hypothesis possessing their own unique properties. The hydrogen production rate for the films were observed and found to be decreasing with the addition of the binder material. However, the efficiency of the Zn/CdS film was higher than the other photocatalytic films. In order to extend its application, impedance studies were also made.