A Comparative Study on Photodegradation Kinetic of Tetracycline Using Visible light Sensitized ZnS and Cu-loaded ZnS Nano Particles

Sensitized ZnS and Cu-loaded ZnS nanoparticles have been synthesized by chemical precipitation method using anthocyanin as the capping agent and sensitizer. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, UV visible spectrophotometer methods were used for the characterization of nanoparticles. Photocatalytic activities of sensitized ZnS and Cu-loaded ZnS were compared in degradation of tetracycline in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The progress of the reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically. The different parameters affecting on the photocatalytic reaction such as amount of semiconductor, the initial tetracycline (TC) concentration, the pH of solution, Influence of Cu content and the photocatalytic degradation kinetics of TC were studied. Sensitized Cu-loaded ZnS nanoparticles exhibit high photocatalytic activity during the mineralization of tetracycline under visible light due to decrease of recombination rate of electron–hole pairs. More than 90 % of tetracycline solution degraded with sensitized Cu-loaded ZnS in less than 90 min while Sensitized ZnS was degrading 80 percent within 5 hours.