Fabrication of Co₃O₄/Co₃S₄/CNTs for photocatalytic treatment of wastewater under xenon lamp

The current study is about the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) of cobalt oxide (CO) and cobalt sulfide (CS) followed by their nanocomposites as CO/CS and CO/CS/CNT by ultrasonication approach. The addition of carbon-based materials in the oxides and sulfides enhances their performance by developing physico-chemical interactions. Prepared NPs were utilized for the photodegradation of organic contaminants. The characteristics, as well as the efficiency of the prepared samples, have been systematically examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV-vis spectroscopy. Photocatalytic activities of bare samples and synthesized nanocomposites were tested for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) using a xenon lamp. The percentage degradation of dye was 24.14%, 57.94%, 71.66%, and 85.04% in the presence of CO, CS, CO/CS, and CO/CS/CNT, respectively. Crystal violet (CV), Rhodamine B (rho-B), and industrial wastewater were also degraded by the ternary composite. The comparative studies showed the best performance of CO/CS/CNT, which enhanced the generation of electron-hole pairs by absorption of photons of incoming radiations, increased charge separation, and maximum surface area for adsorption.