Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Natural sunlight irradiated flower-like CuS synthesized from DMF solvothermal treatment

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Frontiers of Materials Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Three-dimensional CuS hierarchical crystals with high catalytic activity had been successfully fabricated using a facile solvothermal process. The CuS microparticles showed different flower-like morphology and good dispersion by optimizing reaction conditions. It was found that using N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as the solvent reagent in the proper temperature conditions was favorable for the growth of hierarchically structured CuS. The hexagonal flower-like CuS synthesized at 170°C for 60 min displayed broad-spectrum photocatalytic properties under ultraviolet (UV) and visible irradiation. The as-prepared CuS crystals exhibited good performance to decolorize methylene blue (MB) solution under visible light irradiation. The total organic carbon (TOC) removal of rhodamine B (RhB) solution was nearly 60% after 5 h of the natural sunlight irradiation, and the property was stable after testing over four recycles, demonstrating a potential application in waster water treatment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Armor J N. A history of industrial catalysis. Catalysis Today, 2011, 163(1): 3–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Kim S D, Cho J, Kim I S, et al. Occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors in South Korean surface, drinking, and waste waters. Water Research, 2007, 41 (5): 1013–1021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Zhang N, Yang M Q, Tang Z R, et al. Toward improving the graphene-semiconductor composite photoactivity via the addition of metal ions as generic interfacial mediator. ACS Nano, 2014, 8 (1): 623–633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Guo W, Zhang F, Lin C, et al. Direct growth of TiO2 nanosheet arrays on carbon fibers for highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange. Advanced Materials, 2012, 24 (35): 4761–4764

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Fan Z, Zhang X, Yang J, et al. Synthesis of 4H/fcc-Au@metal sulfide core–shell nanoribbons. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2015, 137(34): 10910–10913

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Gao W W, Liu W X, Leng Y H, et al. In2S3 nanomaterial as a broadband spectrum photocatalyst to display significant activity. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2015, 176–177: 83–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Xu X J, Hu L F, Gao N, et al. Controlled growth from ZnS nanoparticles to ZnS–CdS nanoparticle hybrids with enhanced photoactivity. Advanced Functional Materials, 2015, 25(3): 445–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Han S C, Hu L F, Gao N, et al. Efficient self-assembly synthesis of uniform CdS spherical nanoparticles-Au nanoparticles hybrids with enhanced photoactivity. Advanced Functional Materials, 2014, 24(24): 3725–3733

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Wang X, Maeda K, Thomas A, et al. A metal-free polymeric photocatalyst for hydrogen production from water under visible light. Nature Materials, 2009, 8(1): 76–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Zheng Y, Lin L, Ye X, et al. Helical graphitic carbon nitrides with photocatalytic and optical activities. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2014, 53(44): 11926–11930

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Han C C, Wu L N, Ge L, et al. AuPd bimetallic nanoparticles decorated raphitic carbon nitride for highly efficient reduction of water to H2 under visible light irradiation. Carbon, 2015, 92: 31–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Li Y, Shen W. Morphology-dependent nanocatalysts: rod-shaped oxides. Chemical Society Reviews, 2014, 43(5): 1543–1574

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Zhang J, Bang J H, Tang C, et al. Tailored TiO2–SrTiO3 heterostructure nanotube arrays for improved photoelectrochemical performance. ACS Nano, 2010, 4(1): 387–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Liu S, Tang Z R, Sun Y, et al. One-dimension-based spatially ordered architectures for solar energy conversion. Chemical Society Reviews, 2015, 44(15): 5053–5075

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Liu R P, Ren F, Yang J L, et al. One-step synthesis of hierarchically porous hybrid TiO2 hollow spheres with high photocatalytic activity. Frontiers of Materials Science, 2016, 10 (1): 15–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Zheng L, Han S, Liu H, et al. Hierarchical MoS2 nanosheet@TiO2 nanotube array composites with enhanced photocatalytic and photocurrent performances. Small, 2016, 12(11): 1527–1536

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Wang X, Zhuang J, Peng Q, et al. A general strategy for nanocrystal synthesis. Nature, 2005, 437(7055): 121–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Li X, He X, Shi C, et al. Synthesis of one-dimensional copper sulfide nanorods as high-performance anode in lithium ion batteries. ChemSusChem, 2014, 7(12): 3328–3333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Zhang J, Yu J, Zhang Y, et al. Visible light photocatalytic H2- production activity of CuS/ZnS porous nanosheets based on photoinduced interfacial charge transfer. Nano Letters, 2011, 11 (11): 4774–4779

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Han Y, Wang Y P, Gao W H, et al. Synthesis of novel CuS with hierarchical structures and its application in lithium-ion batteries. Powder Technology, 2011, 212(1): 64–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Goel S, Chen F, Cai W. Synthesis and biomedical applications of copper sulfide nanoparticles: from sensors to theranostics. Small, 2014, 10(4): 631–645

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Cheng Z G, Wang S Z, Wang Q, et al. A facile solution chemical route to self-assembly of CuS ball-flowers and their application as an efficient photocatalyst. CrystEngComm, 2010, 12(1): 144–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Xu H L,WangWZ, Zhu W. Sonochemical synthesis of crystalline CuS nanoplates via an in situ template route. Materials Letters, 2006, 60(17-18): 2203–2206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Du W, Qian X, Ma X, et al. Shape-controlled synthesis and selfassembly of hexagonal covellite (CuS) nanoplatelets. Chemistry - A European Journal, 2007, 13(11): 3241–3247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Shu Q W, Lan J, Gao M X, et al. Controlled synthesis of CuS caved superstructures and their application to the catalysis of organic dye degradation in the absence of light. CrystEngComm, 2015, 17(6): 1374–1380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Kumar V V, Hariharan P S, Eniyavan D, et al. Alanine based coordinating ligand mediated hydrothermal synthesis of CuS nano/microstructures and morphology dependent photocatalysis. CrystEngComm, 2015, 17(18): 3452–3459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Tanveer M, Cao C B, Aslam I, et al. Synthesis of CuS flowers exhibiting versatile photo-catalyst response. New Journal of Chemistry, 2015, 39(2): 1459–1468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Zhang Y Q, Zhang B P, Ge Z H, et al. Preparation by solvothermal synthesis, growth mechanism, and photocatalytic performance of CuS nanopowders. European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2014, 2014(14): 2368–2375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Mi L, Wei W, Zheng Z, et al. Tunable properties induced by ion exchange in multilayer intertwined CuS microflowers with hierarchal structures. Nanoscale, 2013, 5(14): 6589–6598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Saranya M, Ramachandran R, Samuel E J J, et al. Enhanced visible light photocatalytic reduction of organic pollutant and electrochemical properties of CuS catalyst. Powder Technology, 2015, 279: 209–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Hosseinpour Z, Alemi A, Khandar A A, et al. A controlled solvothermal synthesis of CuS hierarchical structures and their natural-light-induced photocatalytic properties. New Journal of Chemistry, 2015, 39(7): 5470–5476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Li F, Wu J, Qin Q, et al. Controllable synthesis, optical and photocatalytic properties of CuS nanomaterials with hierarchical structures. Powder Technology, 2010, 198(2): 267–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Yang Z K, Song L X, Teng Y, et al. Ethylenediamine-modulated synthesis of highly monodisperse copper sulfide microflowers with excellent photocatalytic performance. Journal of Materials Chemistry A: Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2014, 2 (47): 20004–20009

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Wei Zhao, Zihao Wang, Lei Zhou, Nianqi Liu & Hongxing Wang

Authors
  1. Wei Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zihao Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lei Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nianqi Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hongxing Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wei Zhao.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhao, W., Wang, Z., Zhou, L. et al. Natural sunlight irradiated flower-like CuS synthesized from DMF solvothermal treatment. Front. Mater. Sci. 10, 290–299 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-016-0349-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-016-0349-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation