Amino-functionalized MIL-101(Cr) photodegradation enhancement by sulfur-enriched copper sulfide nanoparticles: An experimental and DFT study

In the present work, a direct Z-scheme composite photocatalyst, NH2-MIL-101(Cr)@CuS, with high photodegradation efficiency of Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation in the visible light spectrum, is fabricated through a solvothermal method. It was found that the NH2-MIL-101(Cr)@CuS composite with an appropriate amount of NH2-MIL-101(Cr) exhibited high catalytic performance in the RhB photodegradation. The photocurrent density and results from the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis confirm the promoted photocatalytic activity of the NH2-MIL-101(Cr)@CuS composite compared to the pristine MIL-101(Cr) and CuS nanoparticles, which were supported by the electron lifetime (τn) calculations for the samples. The trapping experiments and Mott-Schottky analysis revealed that the superoxide radicals (radical dotO2−) played an essential role in the photodegradation of RhB and the promoted photocatalytic activity contributed to a direct Z-scheme mechanism between CuS and NH2-MIL-101(Cr). Stability study also shows acceptable results during photocatalytic reaction. Furthermore, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were performed to gain a better understanding of the electronic properties of the NH2-MIL-101(Cr)@CuS nanocomposite. The calculated band structures showed that the nanocomposite has a higher photocatalytic efficiency in the visible region compared to the pristine MIL-101(Cr) and CuS. The calculated band gap of both the semiconductors and the hybrid nanocomposite confirms the experimental results.