Controlled Synthesis of CuS and Cu9S5 and Their Application in the Photocatalytic Mineralization of Tetracycline

Pure-phase Cu2−xS (x = 1, 0.2) nanoparticles have been synthesized by the thermal decomposition of copper(II) dithiocarbamate as a single-source precursor in oleylamine capping agent. The compositions nanocrystals varied from CuS (covellite) through mixture phases (CuS and Cu7.2S4) to Cu9S5 (digenite) simply varying temperature synthesis. crystallinity morphology copper sulfides were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission (TEM), which showed pure at low (120 °C) high (220 temperatures intermediate (150 180 °C). Covellite was spherical morphology, while digenite rod shaped. optical properties these characterized UV−vis–NIR photoluminescence spectroscopies. Both samples had very similar absorption spectra but distinguishable fluorescence exhibited blue shift their band gap energies compared bulk Cu2−xS. used catalysts for photocatalytic degradation tetracycline (TC) under visible-light irradiation. results demonstrated that activity phase higher catalytic 98.5% covellite phase, 88% within 120 min reaction time 80 mg catalysts. efficiency achieved with attributed its visible light covellite.