Environmental remediation of thiophene solution by photocatalytic oxidation using NiO/AgInS2 nanoparticles

•NiO/AgInS2 nanoparticles were firstly prepared.•The catalyst demonstrated high performance for photocatalytic oxidation of thiophene under visible light.•The mechanism of photocatalytic oxidation of thiophene was proposed.

AgInS2 nanoparticles were prepared via a microwave method, while NiO was immobilized on the surface of AgInS2 via an impregnation method. The samples produced were characterized using different techniques. The catalytic performances of the AgInS2 and NiO/AgInS2 samples were carried out for photocatalytic oxidation of thiophene under visible light. The maximum oxidation efficiency achieved was 100% at 0.3 NiO/AgInS2 photocatalyst. The doping of NiO into the AgInS2 was useful in improving the photocatalytic activity. The catalyst could be reused without any loss in activity during the first five cycles.

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