Synergetic impact of surface plasmon hot electron and CuS nanolayer of CuS/Au/ZnO core-shell nanorods for the degradation of toxic pollutant

Abstract

CuS/Au/ZnO core-sell nanorods (NRs) have been synthesized by a novel and facile chemical method in an aqueous medium. The CuS/Au/ZnO NRs showed higher catalytic activity as compared to the ZnO NRs, Au/ZnO NRs, and CuS/ZnO NRs. The wavelength-dependent photocatalytic activity of the CuS/Au/ZnO NRs confirmed that the Au NPs act as the surface plasmon generated photocatalytic activity boosters and that CuS performs as a co-catalyst. The photocurrent generation and photo-electrochemical study further exhibited higher photocurrent generation and reduction of charge transfer resistance due to the synergistic impact of the Au NPs and CuS coating on the ZnO NRs. (C) 2018 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.