Photodegradation Process of Organic Dyes in the Presence of a Manganese-Doped Zinc Sulfide Nanowire Photocatalyst

Abstract

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanowires represent a promising candidate in many fields, including optoelectronics and photocatalysis because of their advantages such as excellent optical properties, chemical stability and an easy-scalable simple synthesis method. In this study, an energy-friendly microwave radiation process was used to develop the single-step, solvothermal process for the growth of manganese-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS) and undoped nanocrystals (NCs) in the forms of nanowires using two short amines as a stabilizer, e.g. ethylenediamine and hydrazine, respectively. ZnS nanowires doped with Mn atoms show absorbance in UV and in the visible region of the spectrum. The photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B in the presence of Mn-doped and undoped ZnS nanocrystals illuminated with only a 6-W UV lamp has been comprehensively studied. The effect of Mn doping and the presence of a nanocrystal stabilizer on the degradation process was determined. It was found that the efficiency of a photocatalytic degradation process was strongly affected by both factors: the doping process of nanowires with Mn2+ atoms and the attachment of ligands to the nanocrystal surface.