Ultra-small zinc oxide nanosheets anchored onto sodium bismuth sulfide nanoribbons as solar-driven photocatalysts for removal of toxic pollutants and phtotoelectrocatalytic water oxidation

Ravindranadh Koutavarapu; Ch Venkata Reddy; Kamaluddin Syed; Kakarla Raghava Reddy; Nagaraj P Shetti; Tejraj M Aminabhavi; Jaesool Shim

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128559

Ultra-small zinc oxide nanosheets anchored onto sodium bismuth sulfide nanoribbons as solar-driven photocatalysts for removal of toxic pollutants and phtotoelectrocatalytic water oxidation

Chemosphere. 2021 Mar:267:128559. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128559. Epub 2020 Oct 11.

Authors

Ravindranadh Koutavarapu¹, Ch Venkata Reddy², Kamaluddin Syed³, Kakarla Raghava Reddy⁴, Nagaraj P Shetti⁵, Tejraj M Aminabhavi⁶, Jaesool Shim⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 712-749, Republic of Korea.
² School of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 712-749, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: cvrphy@gmail.com.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vignan's Institute of Information Technology, Visakhapatnam, 530049, A.P., India.
⁴ School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. Electronic address: reddy.chem@gmail.com.
⁵ Center for Electrochemical Science & Materials, Department of Chemistry, K.L.E. Institute of Technology, Hubballi, 580 030, Karnataka, India.
⁶ Department of Pharmaceutics, SETs' College of Pharmacy, Dharwad, 580 007, Karnataka, India. Electronic address: aminabhavit@gmail.com.
⁷ School of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 712-749, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jshim@ynu.ac.kr.

PMID: 33070978
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128559

Abstract

Heterostructured nanohybrids were prepared from sodium bismuth sulfide (NaBiS₂) and zinc oxide (ZnO) through hydrothermal process. The nanocomposite was used for tetracycline (TC) degradation as well as photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. Morphology and structural analyses were performed to confirm the dispersion of ultra-small ZnO nanosheets into the NaBiS₂ nanoribbons. By tuning the band gap, it was possible to degrade tetracycline toxic pollutant within 90 min under the simulated solar light irradiation, while PEC suggested a lower charge-transfer resistance, high photocurrent response, and exceptionally good stability. The highest photocurrent density of 0.751 mAcm^-2 vs. Ag/AgCl in 0.1 M Na₂SO₃ solution was observed under solar-light illumination. Detailed photocatalytic mechanisms for the degradation of TC and PEC water oxidation are discussed.

Keywords: Environmental toxic pollutants removal; Nanostructured hybrids; Photoelectrochemical activity; Sodium bismuth sulfide; Solar-driven photocatalysis; Zinc oxide.

MeSH terms

Bismuth
Environmental Pollutants*
Light
Nanotubes, Carbon*
Sodium
Sulfides
Water
Zinc Oxide*

Substances

Environmental Pollutants
Nanotubes, Carbon
Sulfides
Water
Sodium
Zinc Oxide
Bismuth
bismuth sulfide